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69传媒鈥� success in mathematics, and algebra specifically, hinges largely on their mastering a focused, clearly defined set of topics in that subject in early grades, the draft report of a federal panel concludes.
The long-awaited report of the is still very much in flux. Members of the White House-commissioned group staged their 10th, and what was supposed to be their final, meeting in a hotel here Nov. 28, though they indicated that numerous revisions to the document are yet to come.
The panel spent most of a day debating and rewriting a 68-page draft of the report. The draft makes recommendations and findings on curricular content, learning processes, training and evaluation of teachers, instructional practices, assessment, and research as those topics apply to math in grades pre-K through 8.
鈥淚nternational and domestic comparisons show that American students have not been succeeding in the mathematical part of their education at anything like a leadership level,鈥� the report says. 鈥淧articularly disturbing is the consistent finding that American students achieve in mathematics progressively more poorly at higher grades.鈥�
Algebra鈥檚 Core
The 19-member panel has reviewed an estimated 18,000 research documents and reports as part of its work, which began in 2006. But its draft document also bemoans the paucity of available research in several areas of math鈥攊ncluding instruction and teacher training. Government needs to do more, it says, to support research with 鈥渓arge enough samples of students, classrooms, teachers, and schools to identify reliable effects.鈥�
The draft attempts to define the core features of a legitimate school algebra course as opposed to one, the panelists said, that presents watered-down math under that course title. Topics in an algebra course should include concepts such as symbols and expressions, functions, quadratic relations, and others, it notes.
The working report also spells out specific concepts in math that are too often neglected in pre-K through grade 8 math instruction generally, such as fractions, whole numbers, and particular elements of geometry and measurement.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 spend enough time on them and we don鈥檛 assess them,鈥� panel member Camilla Persson Benbow, an educational psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said of fractions. 鈥淸They鈥檙e] really not well mastered by schoolchildren.鈥�
In arguing in behalf of a more focused curriculum in elementary and middle schools, the panel lists several 鈥渂enchmarks for critical foundations鈥� in prekindergarten through 8th grade math, leading to algebra. The goal is to develop fluency with fractions, whole numbers, and other topics.
Panel Expanded
The panel drew from a diverse assortment of documents, including the 2006 鈥淐urriculum Focal Points,鈥� published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, as well as Singapore鈥檚 national standards and a number of U.S. state math standards.
The meeting鈥檚 tone was collegial, with many disagreements centering on whether enough extensive research supported particular recommendations and language in the report. At the same time, the draft document also touches on the sources of recent prominent debates in K-12 math.
For instance, the draft report says certain high-quality computer software in math 鈥渃an facilitate student achievement鈥� and build student problem-solving skills. But it also finds that a review of research鈥攎ost of it dated鈥攊ndicates that calculators have shown 鈥渓imited to no impact on calculation skills, problem-solving competencies, or conceptual development.鈥�
President Bush appointed members of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel in May 2006. He charged its members鈥攚ho include mathematicians, cognitive psychologists, and those with K-12 teaching experience鈥攖o identify promising and effective instructional strategies in mathematics, particularly when it comes to preparing students for algebra, a subject typically taught in 8th or 9th grade.
Originally the panel had 17 members, but it now includes 19 individuals, in addition to five ex-officio members from the federal government. One of the original panelists, Nancy Ichinaga, a former California principal, resigned from the panel, and three others have joined the group: Douglas H. Clements, a professor of early-childhood, mathematics, and computer education at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York; Susan E. Embreston, a professor of psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Bert Fristedt, a distinguished teacher of mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
The panel is supposed to deliver a final report to the White House by Feb. 28. Larry R. Faulkner, the chairman of the panel and a former president of the University of Texas at Austin, said White House officials have indicated they will give the panel more time, if necessary, though he hopes to meet the original deadline. In order to accomplish that, and allow for revisions and printing of the document, the panel would probably have to make final revisions by Dec. 15.
Mr. Faulkner said it was possible that the panel could have one more meeting or simply circulate final changes to the document by e-mail in the weeks ahead.
Bush administration officials have compared the math panel鈥檚 mission to that of the National 69传媒 Panel, an expert group that produced recommendations on reading practices that have had a broad impact on federal policy in that subject鈥攎ost notably in the awarding of grants through the federal 69传媒 First program. Specifically, administration officials have said the math panel鈥檚 advice could guide Math Now, a federal grant program approved by Congress this year, which has not yet been funded.
Policy Guidance
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who addressed the panel at the Nov. 28 session, said she believed the group鈥檚 report would not only help guide policies within the U.S. Department of Education, but also across other federal agencies that sponsor math programs and research, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The secretary noted that a panel she chaired, the Academic Competitiveness Council, found in a report this year that while the federal government spends about $3 billion a year on math and science education programs, few of those have proved effective through research.
鈥淲hen we know what works, when we know what鈥檚 [stated] in research, it is our responsibility to align our resources with those effective practices,鈥� Ms. Spellings said in an interview outside the meeting. 鈥淚 would expect that [other agencies] would honor this work.鈥�
