SOCMM Public Comments
Before CVUSD School
Board
Everyday Math Agenda
Item
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Honorable School board members, my name is Jo Anne Cobasko I
am speaking on behalf of the parents group, Save Our Children from Mediocre Math. We urge the school board to immediately
implement “Math Choice” and give students access to CA approved math curriculum
in
I thank the board for reviewing Everyday Math, and would
like to share information that Save Our Children from Mediocre Math has
received from local parents.
The most troubling report details that an entire 4th
grade class failed a recent unit exam.
Only 2 of over 30 children were able to achieve as high as a D, the rest
scored below that. A subsequent exam was
returned with a note which indicated that due to the extreme difficulty of the
test, 50% of the questions would be considered extra credit, and that if a
student answered within 10 numbers of the correct answer they received credit
for getting the answer right. Thus the
score on this exam for this parent’s child was raised to a B from what normally
would be considered an F. When asked what other parents were saying this parent
indicated that those he had spoken with were just hiring tutors.
Parents of a 3rd grade student indicated that an
Everyday Math homework assignment had driven their child to tears and a note
was sent to the teacher explaining the child’s despair and the parent’s deep
concern. The result was that the old
Addison Wesley text was sent home for supplementation. A month later there were 4 more Everyday Math
homework problems which the child could not complete. He did not understand the
teacher’s explanations and no instructions were sent home. Despite having 3 math degrees between them,
neither parent was able to solve these 3rd grade homework
problems.
An equally distressing report came from parents who
indicated their 2nd grade student was so upset by Everyday Math that
he would begin to cry in class when it was time to pull out the math work
books. The administrative outcome is
that the child was deemed immature and dropped back one grade level. These parents are paying $40 an hour to a
credentialed substitute teacher to tutor their 3rd grade child in
math.
Another 3rd grade parent was astonished to find
out from the instructor that it was now his job to teach his child the
multiplication tables.
A parent with one 1st grader two 5th
graders is paying $3,135 annually for his 3 children to participate in the math
program at the Kumon learning center.
This parent has an Electrical Engineering degree and a minor in
mathematics. The pre assessment given to
the 2 older children upon entering the
Kumon program at the tail end of their 4th grade year showed that
they were 1 grade level below where they should be, in spite of being
designated “A” students in math by CVUSD educators . The younger child who is gaining the full
benefit of starting the Kumon program early in his math career is leading his
CVUSD classmates by a wide margin, along with one other child.
A 5th grade gate student was being benched at
recess for not completing his Everyday Math homework. A questionable punishment when you consider
that the child did not understand the classroom explanation and the parent
could not help with the math problems as he did not understand the
material. The parent is now paying a
CVUSD teacher $40 and hour to tutor this child in math at home.
One parent published a letter to the editor last week
acknowledging that his child’s test scores are going up using Everyday
Math. Of course the parent gives all the
credit to SCORE learning centers where he has paid $1,200 annually per child
for each of his 2 students to be taught math concepts correctly.
Everyday Math is a very costly program for parents, as
district classrooms no longer teach many of the fundamental skills essential
for success in mathematics. The cost
burden now falls on parents and students, who must obtain basic math
instruction, from sources outside the
Supporters of Everyday Math point to test scores and declare
that Everyday Math is making the grade.
Variations in the degree of supplementation used throughout the
district, however, render the test scores meaningless. In spite of the district adoption of the
Everyday Math curriculum, private tutors; learning centers; and the home use of
approved math programs will all contribute to stronger math scores on
standardized exams.
If parents would like to obtain more information about NCTM
standards based math, or “Research Based Math” the misnomer being employed to
describe Everyday math, they can access our web site by typing in SOCMM that’s
SOCMM in any search engine and that will bring up a link to Save Our Children
from Mediocre Math.
Under LINKS on our web site you will find the study by the National Academy of Science which evaluated the research behind Everyday Math. In the conclusion on page 189 of the NAS study entitled “On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness” it clearly states that NONE of the National Science Foundation supported math programs including Everyday Math have any valid research. Let me repeat that, NONE of the NCTM Standards based math curricula which includes Everyday Math, have any valid research that shows they are effective. http://books.nap.edu/books/0309092426/html/189.html
I urge the board members to review the NAS findings and
reconsider CVUSD policy. It’s time to
repeal the MATH TAX that Everyday Math imposes on the families of the
Thank you
Jo Anne Cobasko
Founder – Save Our Children from Mediocre Math
School board members,
My name is Bill Faust. I have been a
resident of
I come to speak to you as a concerned
parent, but I do believe I have some experience and perspective in the area of
mathematics. I have a PhD in electrical engineering from UCLA and had a minor
field in graduate level mathematics.
Back in 2003 I had written an email to the
school board to express my dissatisfaction with the selection of Everyday
Mathematics as the basis of the mathematics curriculum. At the time I wrote:
Last night my son's fourth grade homework consisted of three pages
from the workbook. In these three pages
there 11 different disjoint topics covered: estimation, algebra, simple
addition and subtraction, composition of large numbers, measurements, time calculations,
sequences with decimal points, addition/subtraction with dollars and cents, map
skills, word problems, and geometry.
A hodge podge
of topics of varying levels of difficulty. It has left my son confused and
frustrated, and I do not blame him.
The curriculum approaches the absurd, teaching multiple (five!) ways
of doing simple multi-digit subtraction. It has left my son with exposure to
five ways, and mastery of none.
As a parent it is difficult to see one's
child -a student previously strong in mathematics -struggle to the point of
tears. It does not surprise me that hundreds of mathematicians and scientists
are signing letters against this curriculum. As someone with a deep
appreciation and a strong background
in mathematics, it pains me to see the material taught this way.
Since my letter to the board, my wife and I
have enrolled our three children in Kumon's
mathematics after school program, at a total cost of more than $3000 per year.
Judging by the crowds at the local Kumon center, their
enrollment has increased.
There are some points I would like to bring
to the attention of the board.
1. Since the more strict
2. All of the surrounding school districts
(Simi Valley Unified, Oak Park Unified, Las Virgenes
Unified, Ocean View Unified, Pleasant Valley Unified, and Moorpark Unified) all
use texts approved by the
3. In comparing the latest test scores, the
average percentage of students which scored better than the 50th percentile on
grades 2-5 on the math portion of the CAT/6 standardized test, the biggest
improvements year-to-year, were 3.5% and 3.0% points, respectively, were for
the Ocean View and
4. Parents and teachers are "working
around" the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. Some parents, like me, are
choosing outside tutoring. Some teachers are supplementing the curriculum
heavily with outside material (and I applaud their efforts) or abandoning it
altogether.
Certainly all in this room have the same
goal of increasing the mathematics proficiency of our students. However, I am
afraid that we have veered off course in adopting the Everyday mathematics
curriculum. As a parent of three children enrolled in CVUSD, I would welcome
the opportunity to opt out of this controversial program and return to a state
approved curriculum.
Thank you for your time and the opportunity
to speak on an issue very important to me.
Bill Faust, PhD
____________________________________________________________________________________
Save Our Children from Mediocre Math (SOCMM)
Web site: http://socmm.home.att.net