Abstract
International assessment data indicate American students are not competing with their counterparts in other countries. The mathematics curriculum and pedagogy are not preparing students to compete in a global economy. This study compared student achievement using sixth grade mathematics results from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. Specifically, the study compared the results of students in three different rural school districts, all of whom were receiving instruction in three different mathematics curricula. In one district, students received seven years of the K-6 Everyday Mathematics curriculum which was compared with students who received seven years of instruction using a traditional mathematics curriculum in the second district and in the third district scores were compared with students who were taught using a traditional mathematics curriculum supplemented with Mountain Math. The results of this study indicate the constructivist K-6 elementary mathematics curriculum did not lead to higher levels in math achievement when compared with the traditional methods of instruction.
Highlights
International assessment data indicate American students are not competing with their counterparts in other countries
Mediocre results from the 2003 and 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) as well as results from the 2003, 2006, and 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have brought intense criticism on the United States public education system to change, mathematics instruction, so that students can compete with their peers from other countries
A one-way ANOVA using the 2006 data indicate there was no significant difference in sixth grade Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) mathematics scales scores among the three schools, F(2, 399) = 2.14, p >
Summary
International assessment data indicate American students are not competing with their counterparts in other countries. The procedural-formalist curriculum is synonymous with a more traditional approach to mathematics instruction, which emphasizes a set of logically organized facts, skills, and procedures that are perfected over time Within this traditional approach to teaching, students practice these skills and procedures repeatedly until a minimum level of competence is attained. Constructivism is a theory of knowledge with roots in philosophy, psychology, and cybernetics It asserts two main principles whose application has far-reaching consequences for the study of cognitive development and learning as well as for the practice of teaching, psychotherapy, and interpersonal management in general. The Everyday Mathematics first grade students performed higher than both the Chinese and the traditionally taught U.S first graders, but below the Japanese students This improvement in scores relative to the Chinese group indicated a positive effect of the curriculum (Carroll, 2001). This improvement in scores relative to the Chinese group indicated a positive effect of the curriculum (Carroll, 2001). Briars and Resnick (2000) examined the way Everyday Mathematics narrowed the achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students on the New Standards
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