The Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education (“CEMSE”), at The University of Chicago, proudly claims to be the “home of the authors of Everyday Mathematics.” The CEMSE has a bone to pick with the SMARTER Balanced Achievement Consortium (“SBAC”), the group that is developing the standardized test that Connecticut will use starting in 2015. In reviewing the draft specifications for the “Summative Assessment” (I guess standardized test is too easy to say), they state that
“If SBAC’s test for Grades 3-6 reflect the (proposed priorities), there is a danger that the implemented curriculum will fail to prepare students for college and careers in a world in which routine arithmetic calculations are routinely carried out by machines.”
“If SBAC’s test for Grades 3-6 reflect the (proposed priorities), there is a danger that the implemented curriculum will fail to prepare students for college and careers in a world in which routine arithmetic calculations are routinely carried out by machines.”
Now I’ve read that about ten times, and the my translation is that “because we developed a curriculum that teaches kids to use calculators instead of learning the basic facts, they are now going to fail because they can’t use calculators.” I am open to other translations. Any other thoughts out there about what this means?
By the way, on their website, Everyday Math is “used in over 220,000 classrooms by about 4.3 million students.” These guys just aren’t very consistent.
Brian BTN
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