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“Higher Standards for Our Students...

NCTM Presents

Higher Standards for Ourselves”

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To have the student learn:

• The history of the development of the Principles and Standards;

• the vision of the NCTM;

• Principles; and the

• Standards

As an organization representing teachers of mathematics, NCTM shares with students, school leaders, and parents and other caregivers the responsibility to ensure that all students receive a high-quality mathematics education.

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The History -

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• 1989 The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards• 1991 Professional Teaching Standards• 1995 Assessment Standards

• 2000 Principles and Standards for School Mathematics?

Why Principles and Standards for School Mathematics?

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Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

The Case Is Straightforward

• The world is changing.• Our students are different.• School mathematics is not working

well enough for enough students.

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The World Is Changing

• In everyday life, we are bombarded with “mathematical” information.

• In the workplace, we are regularly challenged to learn new skills.

• Our lives are being reshaped by changing technologies.

Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

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Our Students Are Different

• They have competing demands on their time.

• They are comfortable with and use technology.

• They are accustomed to visual stimulation and have easy access to information.

Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

Therefore, school mathematics must continue to improve.

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School Mathematics Is Not Working Well Enough for Enough Students

• Internationally, our students are not mathematically competitive

LOWER7 countriesLOWER

7 countries

SAME14 countries

SAME14 countries

HIGHER20 countries

HIGHER20 countries

United States

United States

Source: TIMSS Grade 8, 1994 - 1995

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… Mathematics is Important!

“The strongest predictor of earnings nine years after graduation from high school is the number of mathematics courses taken.”

“The strongest predictor of earnings nine years after graduation from high school is the number of mathematics courses taken.”

Source: USDL SCANS Report, 1990.

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We need math in our changing world:

• math for life;

• math as a part of our cultural heritage;

• math for science and technological communication; and

• to open doors for our future.

• math for work;

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What are the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics?

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The Principles and Standards for School Mathematics have four parts -

• Principles (Ch 2)

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• Standards Overview (Ch 3)

• Standards in four bands PK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 (Ch 4 - 7).

• Steps needed to accomplish these goals (Ch 8).

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• Teaching

Principles(Chapter 2)

The principles describe particular features of high-quality mathematics programsThe principles describe particular features of high-quality mathematics programs

• Equity• Equity

• Curriculum• Learning

• Teaching

• Assessment

• Teaching

• Assessment

• Technology

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The StandardsThe standards are in two sets. The content

standards and the processing standards.

For purposes of curriculum development and teaching the two sets are inseparable.

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The Content Standards

• Number and Operations• Algebra• Geometry• Measurement• Data Analysis and

Probability

These standards span all grade bands.

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Emphasis Across the Grades

Number

Algebra

Geometry

Measurement

Data Analysis and Probability

Pre-K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

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The Processing Standards

• Problem Solving

• Reasoning and Proof

• Communication

• Connections

• Representation

These standards span all grade bands.

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The NCTM vision for the

future.

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The standards are a vision of what it means to be mathematically literate both in a world that relies on calculators and computers to carry out mathematical procedures and in a world where mathematics is rapidly growing and is extensively being applied in diverse fields.

The standards are a vision of what it means to be mathematically literate both in a world that relies on calculators and computers to carry out mathematical procedures and in a world where mathematics is rapidly growing and is extensively being applied in diverse fields.

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The standards were developed by the mathematics education community in response to a call for reform in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Developed in response to a consensus of the mathematics education community that all students need to learn more, and often different, mathematics and that instruction in mathematics must be significantly revised.

The standards were developed by the mathematics education community in response to a call for reform in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Developed in response to a consensus of the mathematics education community that all students need to learn more, and often different, mathematics and that instruction in mathematics must be significantly revised.

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There are three reasons that standards are needed;

• To insure quality,

• to indicate goals, and

• to promote change.

There are three reasons that standards are needed;

• To insure quality,

• to indicate goals, and

• to promote change.

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Summary

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Why update the 1989 Standards?• We have:

– new research about learning.– learned from the past 10 years.– new technologies that require analysis and

consideration of the impact and role of technology in teaching mathematics.

– new skills needed for life and work.

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Why Is It Important to Set Higher Standards for Ourselves?

• Teachers are key figures in changing the ways in which mathematics is taught and learned in schools.

• But teachers cannot do it by themselves.

• Such improvements require that teachers have long-term support and adequate resources.

• But existing support systems for mathematics teachers are as inadequate for teaching in today’s society as the mathematics curriculum of the past is for educating our children who live and work in the twenty–first century.

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Our Programs Need to Accommodate Students by:

• connecting to student interest.

• looking at the logical structure and the experimental sides of mathematics.

• creating a tool-rich environment for learning mathematics,

• understanding what sense students are making of mathematics.

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A Case Study of Success

Portland Middle School serving a rural community in Michigan spends less than $5000 per pupil and is fourth from the bottom of the surrounding 36 school districts, started a standards based curriculum in 1990. The results on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test follow.

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YEAR % Satisfactory % low category

1991 44.4 20.5

1992 56.7 15.0

1993 63.3 8.6

1994 68.2 8.4

1995 78.8 6.8

MEAP Assessment

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National Assessment of Educational Progress

It is Easier to BuildIt is Easier to Build

Leslie Bourdier, Houma, LALeslie Bourdier, Houma, LA

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Remake AdultsRemake Adults

Than toThan toChildrenChildren

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Reminder - Principles and Standards Web Site

standards.nctm.org

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Assignment

Read:

• NCTM Principles and Standards p 11-19.