Does Everyday Math Work?
Our own Andy Thomas, BP Parent and our representative to the Ann Arbor PTO Council, has been known as a skeptic about Everyday Math (EDM), our district’s mathematics curriculum. Heeding AAPS Superintendent Todd Roberts’ call for curriculum decisions to be made based on real data, Thomas decided to analyze the effects of the EDM program on math proficiency. His findings surprised him, and may surprise you.
Among his key findings:
- Michigan districts that use EDM have higher math proficiency rates than those which do not
- This general trend also holds for economically disadvantaged children and ethnic minorities
- While the impact of EDM was smaller among poorer school districts, EDM does narrow the “achievement gap” between white and African-American students, a phenomenon that has been a persistent problem for schools.
To get the full picture, please download either the Executive Summary of Andy’s report, or the full report itself. Then please post your comments here, so we can have a fuller discussion of the report and its implications. (Andy prepared the reports originally for the February PTOC meeting, and gave a summary to the Burns Park PTO meeting tonight.)
Comments
What is "proficiency" in math?
“....The data element used for achievement in mathematics was “percent of students proficient in mathâ€, based on the state-wide MEAP test….”
This statement is from Andy Thomas’ report. My first reaction to viewing Steve Norton’s topic intro was to wonder what is the measure of proficiency in math, and what does it mean (I can’t help that, as I’m an engineer)? The above quote from Andy’s report is the answer.
I can’t say I know much if anything about details of the MEAP test (or education in general), so I am curious about how it measures up as a measure of proficiency in math. I think one needs to understand that when interpreting the results.
Maybe more knowledgeable people can provide some discussion about this…
Pick your yardstick
I can’t get on to the schoolsmatter.com website to see how they defined “proficiency” in math, though I assume it is based on the number of students who “met” or “exceeded” the state’s definition of expectations. That’s how the Michigan Dept. of Education defines it – you can see an example on this page.
Now, whether the MEAP really tests proficiency in math, or in any other subject, is a fair question. In the current climate of “No Child Left Untested,” there is a severe shortage of professionals who have expertise in designing, testing, administering and scoring standardized tests. This has not kept the Feds from requiring such testing, or kept states from using test scores as leverage with local school districts. I think it’s easy to forget that the main reason why school officials worry about MEAP results is that good performance helps stave off the budget axe. From that point of view, it really doesn’t matter so much whether the tests are measuring things accurately as long as it keeps the regulators happy. Then we can get on with our work.
The danger, of course, is that it’s tempting to get caught up with teaching to the test — and it’s especially dangerous if the test is poorly designed in the first place. In that case, teaching to the test actually interferes with what you’re trying to achieve.
In my more limited experience with EDM, I’ve thought that it had a lot going for it. I liked the focus on problem-solving and conceptual understanding. One of the main criticisms of EDM is that many people felt that it did not prepare students for the MEAPs. My reaction has always been, “so what?” Since when did the MEAPs become the most important measure of my child’s learning?
But if Andy’s analysis is correct, even that claim does not stand up to scrutiny. And since performance on the MEAPs is the state’s yardstick of choice, it seems only fair to use it.
Steve Norton
parent of Jamie (2) and Alida (1)
PTO info tech co-chair