Posted on 10/30/2003 4:13:10 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
A school system study, released quietly in February, showed that students in a small mathematics pilot program did significantly better than their peers who were not in the program.
The study examined the second year of student performance in four elementary schools that used the Singapore Math program during the 2001-2002 school year. The four elementary schools were College Gardens in Rockville, Charles Drew in Silver Spring, Highland View in Silver Spring and Woodfield in Gaithersburg.
Singapore Math was developed by the government of that southeast Asian country. It became popular in the United States after students in Singapore ranked first in international comparisons of mathematical abilities in 1995 and 1999.
The Singapore Math curriculum relies heavily on helping students master basic math facts before moving on to more theoretical concepts. Many critics of the county's regular mathematics curriculum have faulted it for "being a mile wide and an inch deep" -- trying to teach too many things without giving students a solid foundation.
County researchers compared the four elementary schools using Singapore Math with schools that did not have the program. The study used school system tests and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. It also compared which middle school mathematics courses students enrolled in after two years of Singapore Math.
The study's authors were unambiguous about the success of Singapore Math.
"The results from Year 2 implementation of the quarterly assessments mirror the trends seen in Year 1 implementation. For every assessment, at every grade level, students in the Singapore Math pilot schools performed significantly higher" than schools that did not have the program, the report states.
The Singapore Math schools also scored higher, generally, on the CTBS mathematics and mathematics computation tests, the report states.
And the two schools that implemented the Singapore program more fully scored higher in both areas than the other two schools using the curriculum, according to the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.net ...
In my tutoring, I use Key Curriculum booklets KEY TO Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Algebra. They're inexpensive, have very good spacing and writing, they're clear and progressive, and give the student plenty of practice problems for both learning and review. The kids at all ability levels and ages love them. They're visually appealing, clear, and not at all geared toward chattiness or group stuff. Plus, they aren't expensive, the students write in them and keep them, and they can always refer back and practice.
The success rate with this series is remarkable.
1. Teachers who don't know math
2. Too many students who get As and Bs, based mostly on "effort".
3. Parents who don't know math (or worse, have an aversion to it).
4. Student evaluation of teachers (Now, teachers have to be cool).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.