Early number sense not algebra readiness plays role in understanding higher level mathematics

There is new research that confirms what teachers have always known, and that is that number sense is more important than algebra readiness in determining a students understanding algebra and higher level mathematics. We know a lot about how babies learn to talk, and how youngsters learn to read. Now scientists are unraveling the earliest building blocks of mathematics. What children know about numbers as they begin first grade plays a huge role in how well they do in everyday calculations later on.

The findings have specialist developing steps that parents might take to spur math abilities, just like they do to try to raise a good reader.

This is not about trying to improve the nation's math scores and attract children to become scientist and engineers. It is far more basic.

Consider: How rapidly can you calculate a tip? Do you know the fractions to double a recipe? Know many quarters and dimes the cashier should hand back to you as change?

Approximately one in five adults in the United States lacks the mathematical competence expected of a middle-schooler, meaning they have difficultly with those ordinary tasks and are not qualified for many of today's jobs.

"It's not just, can you do well in school? It's how well can you do in your life," says Dr. Kathy Mann Koepke of the National Institutes of Health, which is funding most of the research into math cognition. "We are in the midst of math all the time."

A new study shows trouble can begin early. University of Missouri researchers tested 180 seventh-graders. Those who lagged behind their peers in a test of core math skills needed to function as adults were the same children who had the least number sense or fluency when they started first-grade.

"The gap they started with, they don't close it," says Dr. David Geary, a cognitive psychologist who  leads the study that is tracking children from kindergarten to high school in the Columbia, MO, school system. "They're not catching up" to the kids who started ahead.

If the first-grade sounds too young to predicting mathematical ability, well, no one expects tots to be writing sums or performing other arithmetic operations . However this number sense, or what Geary more precisely terms "number systems knowledge," turns out to be a fundamental skill.

The Common Core Standards being adopted by most school in the nation are design to focus on the fundamentals. And number sense is the the fundamental, the foundation for all other strands of mathematics.   I am writing an essay about the standards that I will post soon.

There are a lot of sites that have recommendations for activities to develop number sense. One that I recommend is, Helping Your Child Learn Math.

Remember that encouraging your child to ask questions and explore the world will provide you with many teachable moments.

Until next week,
Debra

If One-Size-Fits-All Education Doesn't Work --- Does One-Size-Ft-All Funding Work?

A school board member in my hometown has declared that Governor Brown's new formula for funding schools is unfair. But is it? All students should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. However with the nature of school funding these days, and the overemphasis on standardized test, many students cannot get the extra attention they need. How many times have teachers had to keep the lesson moving ahead ( following a pacing guide), when they could tell by the lost looks on a few faces that they were not quite getting it?

Maybe they need more one-on-one attention that the class size makes impossible. Maybe they need to go to the reading lab or work with the librarian, but the school let the librarian go a few years ago. Or maybe they haven't had enough to eat but the school district only has $.80 a day  to provide breakfast and lunch and can't they concentrate on the lesson. Perhaps their home life has been stressful and they just need someone to listen and tell them it's going to be okay, but the one counselor in the school is swamped with standardized testing responsibilities.

We know that not every student in California has the same opportunity for success. Some students need additional resources to get them where they need to be.

California legislators have passed a historical budget agreement that overhauls education funding for K-12 schools. And although it's not perfect I support the Local Control Funding Formula because it recognizes that the one-size-fits-all funding doesn't fit all students. Now, additional funding for students of greatest need will help more dreams become realities.

Thanks to the efforts of educators, parents and others to pass Proposition 30, new money is flowing into our schools for the first time in five years. This allows of the new spending plan, which provides all schools with more resources, begins repaying schools the money they are owed from years of budget cuts, recognizes the need for smaller class sizes, and helps meet the needs of school districts serving students with high needs.

It is exciting, as it has been such a long time since we've seen a state budget with a significant increase in education funding. With this new funding  formula, school districts will be held accountable on how they spend the money. It gives us (teachers, parents, citizens) the opportunity to work collaboratively with school boards to make sure the resources go where they are needed most, and reshape the way we support all students. Having local control is democratic, locals know the best ways to use funds.

It is long pass time for California to change the way it funds public schools. We must ensure all students get the resources they need - especially when some need more than others. The governor's Local Control Funding Formula will make that possible. That gives me hope for the future of public education in California.

Until next week,

Debra