I looked carefully at the Algebra 1 Common Core Math Test given in New York State and here’s what I found:
1) If you know traditional math, you will get 70% correct, probably enough to pass. Some of the problems, maybe 30%, are right out of traditional math books (i.e., the ones that aren’t published anymore in the US...but that’s another story), and the other 40% of this group are still traditional, but with some kind of a twist.
2) If you know the new-age nomenclature, like Cumulative, Associative, etc. properties, Range and Domain, etc. you can get another 15% correct.
3) You do have to know Common Core (i.e., total BS crap) for the final 15%, but it is doable.
4) Graphing calculators are REQUIRED for that examine, but EVERY PROBLEM can be done without one in a reasonable amount of time if you know traditional math. Think about it.
The bottom-line is that kids will do well even if just taught traditional math, with a small level of learning the new-age and Common Core stuff. They key is knowing the traditional math.
But here’s the problem, the VAST MAJORITY of parents EXPECT their kids to learn what is necessary in their schools - and for those parents, they will be VERY DISAPPOINTED as the whole point of Common Core is to somehow magically teach math without teaching any traditional skills.
...and the above applies to most FReeper Parents - you know who you are, and admit it, it’s much easier to just dump-off your kids in school, than to take on those schools by teaching your kids first, so your kids know the stuff before being “diagnosed” with a “learning disorder”.
Sounds like a boon for the manufacturers and sales agents of graphing (expensive) calculators. Gonna turn this exonomy around on the backs of our kids!
How in the world can you classify range, domain, and basic algebraic properties as ‘new-age’?