STATE COLLEGE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board to decide future of math program

Vote expected today on using next edition of "Investigations"

By Ed Mahon

The State College Area school board is scheduled to vote on a new plan for teaching “Investigations in Number, Data and Space,” but many parents continue to call for the removal of the conceptually- based math curriculum as a primary resource.

The board will also decide today whether to order $37,000 worth of materials for the second editions of “Investigations” to be used in the fall.

Parents were sending form letters to school board members last week, urging them to vote against adopting the second edition of “Investigations.” Instead, they want the district to follow the proposed action plan for one year while officials consider long-term solutions.

So are the days of the current math curriculum numbered?

Board President Rick Madore said he can’t speak for other board members, but he is leaning toward spending the money necessary for the second edition of “Investigations” and then initiating a long-term study to determine the best curriculum.

Such a decision could lead to a new primary curriculum in a year or two and risks making those $37,000 worth of materials irrelevant.

“That would be a shame,” Madore said. But he doesn’t consider implementing a new curriculum by the fall realistic and he said the second edition of “Investigations” is the best option for students for the moment.

“I want the teachers to have the best tools in their hands for right now. That may not be the best tool for the long term,” Madore said.

As of Friday, a petition calling for the ouster of “Investigations” as the primary curriculum had received 736 signatures.

Parents have criticized the math program for de-emphasizing automaticity and memorization of math facts and the practice of algorithms.

“While the higher standards for K-5 introduced in the Action Plan are certainly a step in the right direction, applying these new standards to a curriculum that has such a strong ‘anti-fluency’ orientation will be a problem,” parents such as Steve Piazza, Gretchen Roth and Jie Xu have all written in form letters. About 20 such letters were sent to the Centre Daily Times, some with adaptations, including the addition of paragraphs.

In the action plan, State College administrators write that their goal is to “create a balanced instructional approach honoring the development of both mathematical reasoning and problem solving with increased rigor of the number and operations strand.”

Other main objectives include: increase the rigor of computational fluency; increase the use of algorithms; assure consistency in materials used across buildings; and assure that evidence-based data is available for evaluation.

The action plan includes expectations for students by grade level.

In second grade, for instance, it says students should be able to memorize addition and subtraction combinations through 10 and be introduced to addition and subtraction through 20. In fifth grade, they should master multiplication and division facts through the 12 times table.

For algorithms, the action plan says first grade students should be able to complete two-digit addition and subtraction problems without regrouping. Students in grade five should be able to complete addition and subtraction problems through sixteenths.

In the form letter, parents say the action plan and the vote has been rushed and “Investigations” has not served the district well.

Since Investigations, students have increased their Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test scores and are still above the state average.

But the district’s ranking based on PSSA math data has declined. The district’s reading scores have not seen such a slide in the rankings.

In a response to parents who have e-mailed her, board member Donna Queeney wrote that she’s visited the elementary schools and has been impressed by the math program.

“Perhaps more importantly, however, I remain convinced that at least this board member isn’t qualified to evaluate our curricular programs and choices, any more than I expect most people would be qualified to do the work of my profession,” Queeney wrote. “Rather, I believe strongly that our role is to hire competent professionals and rely on them to select and evaluate such programs.”

IF YOU GO

What: State College Area school board meeting

When:7:30 p.m. today

Where: boardroom, 131 W. Nittany Ave., State College

The district's proposed action plan is available for download atwww.scasd.org.

The petition calling for the removal of "Investigations" as a primary resource can be found athttp://www.petitiononline.com/pqme/

Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619.