X=Why?

School's Out for the Summer

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:04:58 -0500

It’s the first full week of summer vacation at Fairfax High School. Grades are in. The hallways are empty. My math teacher Tricia Colclaser is on a well-deserved vacation. All of her Algebra II students passed the Standards of Learning test this spring – a feat. That is the standardized test I failed last summer, prompting this journey to revisit high school algebra and find out what I might be missing and what it might take to create a generation of students who aren’t afraid to call themselves “math people.” What I discovered at Fairfax High was a hard-working teacher who knew her math, a fast-paced, too-crammed curriculum, and a group of teenagers who mostly tried their best. Sure, there was a guy who snoozed in the back and a reliable smattering of shrugs when the teacher came around to check homework. But I was surprised by the high number

High School Diplomas - Is One Enough?

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:00:43 -0500

I wrote a story for today's paper about two students from my Algebra II class who are pursuing different high school diplomas. Nila Fasihi studies cosmetology part-time in a career academy and is pursuing a standard diploma. Her classmate Simon Lhuillier is taking honors classes and hoping to get into one of Virginia's competitive four-year universities. He's pursuing a more rigorous advanced diploma. Traditional tracking into vocational or academic programs is breaking down in many ways. But Virginia's policy of offering different diplomas remains controversial at a time when the emphasis nationally is on raising academic standards for all students. The standard diploma has been the sticking point. It requires less science, less math, less social studies, and no foreign language. Students who graduate with these minimum requirements are likely to still need remediation in community college. When educators allow for a range of expectations, it is too often poor

Aspiring Elementary Teachers Fail New Math Test

Tue, 19 May 2009 14:32:17 -0500

From the Boston Globe today -- Three out of four aspiring elementary teachers in Massachusetts failed a new basic math test the state is administering, confirming fears that teachers in the lower grades are not prepared to give their students a strong math base. I'm interested to know whether other states plan to follow suit and give a similar test. It looks like teacher prep programs are already responding and upping their math requirements.

Is Math Fun? Should it be?

Sat, 16 May 2009 06:00:38 -0500

I wrote a story for today's paper about wide ranging public relations campaigns to win the hearts and minds of the average American math student. Plenty of companies and foundations and teachers are trying to polish up math's image -- to make it seem more cool or fun. Here's a link to an award-winning video called "Crank Dat Calculus" that a Virginia high school student designed to show how math can be fun. The Franklin County student won $3,000 from the National Math and Science Initiative, a non-profit that is also working to expand access to Advanced Placement classes and develop strong teacher preparation programs in math and science. Experts disagree about whether singing raps about math concepts or rewriting text books with extra pictures or word problems about skateboarders is really the trick to engaging more students. Math can be interesting all by itself if you don't get too

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Encouraging Native American Girls in Science And Math

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:38:47 -0500

I went to the Arizona desert recently for vacation and had the chance to visit an Indian reservation. While touring a new community college there, I learned about an unusual approach to encourage girls in math and science. The Tohono O’odham Community College created a program this year for daughters who are interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math -- and also for their mothers. High school drop out rates are high on the reservation. Many of those who do graduate and go away to college find it difficult to live away from their families and their homes. Even an hour away in Tucson, many students feel isolated in the big city surrounded by non-native people - and drop out. Program director Victoria Hobbs said it took her 15 years to earn her undergraduate degree in education. "When things got difficult from me, I just came home," she

NAEP Scores Stagnant for High School Students

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:47:07 -0500

According to results released today, performance was up for middle and elementary school students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test that charts progress across state lines and over time. Math scores for 9- and 13-year olds have steadily risen over the past decade on what's known as the Nation's Report Card, which has been assessing a sample of students at ages 9,13 and 17 every few years since the early 1970s. There's one glaring exception to the good news: 17-year olds. Results for the oldest group are stuck in the same rut they were in 30 years ago. Many educators attribute the growth in the younger students' scores to the ratcheting up of standards that has characterized education reform of late. David P. Driscoll, a member of the director of the National Assessment Governing Board, summed up two perspectives on what's happening with the older set: "An

Career Day at Fairfax High

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:08:40 -0500

Yesterday was career day at Fairfax High. The list of professions represented on the roster was long: Accountant, Senior analyst. Funeral director. College professor. Government executive. Athletic trainer. Occupational therapist. State trooper. Systems engineer. Pilot. Pediatrician. Etc. For me - the Washington Post Staff Reporter - the experience was a terrifying glimpse of yet another profession, Teaching. As I stood in front of the class, three groups of teenagers took turns filling the seats before me. Suddenly, the short outline I had scrawled onto a notebook looked very short. And the half hour I had to present began to feel like a very long time. After introductions, I offered an overview of how I got into the profession and passed around copies of some stories I had written. Hmmm. Now what. Any questions? I tried to remember some tips I've heard from other teachers. Check in. Are the students following?

Singapore Math - A Model Method?

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:23:41 -0500

The Ministry of Education in Singapore is releasing a new book this month that summarizes the thinking behind the "Model Method" for teaching math. The approach has drawn interest from many corners of the world thanks to the country's top performance on international exams. At a presentation Singapore's Embassy last night, education officials and researchers from the US and Singapore highlighted some key differences between the two systems. Singapore's method is highly visual and explores fewer topics, but in greater depth. A 2005 study found that Singapore's math curriculum covered about 15 topics in an elementary school year; while Maryland's covered about 29. And while Singapore's text books have an average of 34 lessons with 15 pages of explanation for each, much bulkier texts in the US include an average of 157 lessons, with about four pages of explanation per lesson. I also learned some more surprising differences: Professional development

Fourth Quarter at Fairfax High

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:54:28 -0500

The week after spring break, students at Fairfax High are still waiting for their third quarter grades but are already rounding the bend into the final lap of their school year. The assignment sheet for the Algebra II class shows the state Standards of Learning test is only a month away! Before then, they need to learn about variation, conics, series and sequences. Oh, and do a whole lot of review. This morning, many of the teens rested their heads on their arms as they puzzled through new vocabulary and some new ideas during a lesson on variation. Teacher Tricia Colclaser went over the differences between direct variation, or Y= KX problems, versus inverse variation Y= K / X and joint variation or Z = KXY. We looked at different problems and to figure out whether the variables have a direct or inverse relationship. Example: Longer days and shorter nights

Friday Quiz

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:48:18 -0500

Here is the second math puzzle from the Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad. Thanks to reader Bob Evans for sending it our way!

Fairfax Readies More 8th Graders for Algebra

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:29:08 -0500

Fairfax has taken a slower approach to middle school Algebra than most places. The only option now is an honors course that about half of eighth graders (and some 7th grades) take. Average math students are stuck with pre-Algebra. But the school system is looking to bolster its numbers of 8th graders in Algebra with a non-Honors course next fall. They started this year with a pilot program at a couple of middle schools. Two teachers from Hughes Middle School told the school board at its last meeting that the early venture has been a huge success so far. It's too early to know if every one will pass, but anyone who doesn't can always retake the course in ninth grade. "My students were flattered to be placed in Algebra," one teachers said, but the intimidation and the power of the name "ALGEBRA" made them pay more attention and work

Algebra -- A Universal Language

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:19:52 -0500

Bob Evans, a retired State Department employee and an x=why? reader, was traveling in the Middle East recently and flipping through a Jordanian newspaper. He could not understand the news of the day, but was drawn to one thing he could understand -- a math puzzle. Evans said he never pursued mathematics much beyond high school but he has always liked a mathematical challenge. He sent us a photo of one puzzle he enjoyed. He has a trickier one in store for us on Friday.

No Child Left Inside

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:22:01 -0500

It can be difficult to work, learn, think when the temperature begins to rise and spring flowers are blooming. I wrote a story today about an education trend that takes advantage of our yearning to be outside. A growing number of environmentalists, children's health advocates and educators are pushing against the tendencies of No Child Left Behind to cancel recess and spend every classroom minute preparing for math and reading tests. Hundreds of schools are adapting lessons instead to the garden outside the classroom window. There, students can learn how to measure or divide by building planter boxes or pulling worms in half! And they can associate math and science lessons with the good feelings that come from a healthy dose of Vitamin D and a crisp breeze. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has spearheaded a campaign called No Child Left Inside to amend the next draft of the federal education

A Silver Lining to the Recession?

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:23:34 -0500

Hello! I have been reading a lot of articles lately about people who are turning to teaching in the down economy, because they were laid off or because they are looking for a more stable line of work. Teaching is not recession-proof, of course. Plenty of school systems are talking about cutting positions and raising class sizes, but you can only cut so much and still provide the basic services required by a host of laws. Today I noticed this story at U.S. News and World Report about a new training program in New Jersey that will prepare former financiers on Wall Street to teach mathematics in public schools. Is there a silver lining in this recession for teaching? Do you know of any people who are giving the field a second look? How are they making the jump?

Pi Day at the Math and Science Fair

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:35:03 -0500

In honor of Pi day, I stopped by the 63rd annual DC Math, Science and Technology fair Saturday to see the next generation of mathematicians and scientists in DC public, charter and private schools. The gymnasium at McKinley Technology High School was packed with hundreds of nervous teens and pre-teens and their poster board presentations. There were model cars and microscopic images and solar systems concocted with pipe cleaners and colored Styrofoam balls. All the projects were outlined with a hypothesis, procedure, materials, results, and a conclusion. Students tackled such scientific questions as the effects of music on study, the effects of Prozac on mood, the effects of various kinds of zit creams on acne. Tyler Jones. (Courtesy Yvonne Jones.) Sixth grader Tyler Jones from Shepherd Elementary School won a blue ribbon from the Geological Society of Washington for exploring how the strength of wind power would change according to