The appearance by Michael McKeown, Paul Clopton and Sandy Mann was precipitated by the announcement that the district adoptions committee was going to recommend three Whole Math Programs for K-8 math starting next year. These are:

• Harcourt Anytime Math
• Addison-Wesley Quest 2000
• Glencoe Interactive Mathematics

In the course of pilot testing of new math programs the district considered only Whole Math programs in line with the California Math Framework. More traditional programs were not considered. As one teacher involved in the process remarked, "We were asked to choose among three very similar programs, none of which we liked very much."

During the requested delay, Mathematically Correct asked the district to consider various other textbook options including books that are not currently on the California Instructional Review Education Panel (IREP) list of approved texts. Many such texts have been tried and proved to be quite effective. Since the State Education Code (section 60200 (g)) specifically directs the State Board of Education to grant waivers and financing to districts that feel that state approved texts do not meet their needs, the adoption of non-IREP approved texts should not be problematic.

In closing, Mathematically Correct members noted that it is better to wait one year than to adopt the wrong program now and use it for the next seven years.

For those who are interested in influencing the board decision, personal phone calls and FAXes to individual board members could be quite important.

Ron Ottinger  285-9831   FAX 582-9736
John de Beck  276-2027   FAX 275-5938
Sue Braun     287-4949   FAX 287-1750
Ann Armstrong 452-5609   FAX 297-5624
Shirley Weber 266-8312   FAX 297-5624

Dear Members of the Board of Education:

The Board of Education of the San Diego City Schools is scheduled to make decisions on the adoption of new math programs in the near future. These decisions include both K-8 programs and high school programs. Mathematically Correct urges delaying these adoptions until these programs can be shown to be demonstrably better than traditional programs or alternative non-traditional programs which have not been considered. If necessary the Board should request an extension from the state to allow such a course of action.

Mathematically Correct, an organization of parents and citizens concerned about mathematics education in San Diego, has made an intensive study of the influx of "reform" math education programs in our schools. This has included discussions with literally hundreds of individuals -- students, parents, teachers, administrative staff, politicians, engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, including national experts in the field of math education -- and studied the limited available evaluative data. This research has lead us to urge you to consider the following points prior to adopting any new text in math.

• All of these programs are based on an educational philosophy called constructivism which is substantially and radically different from traditional methods. In practice, such programs lack a balanced approach which would retain an emphasis on computational skills as the basic tools needed for success.
• Given the radical nature of the curriculum changes in the programs under consideration, the board should require clear, well supported, overwhelming, quantitative data about the superiority of such programs prior to adoption.
• No such clear, well supported, overwhelming, quantitative data exist, while other data suggest that constructivist programs produce less learning than the traditional programs they are designed to replace. Indeed, in some cases, students' basic skills may actually deteriorate with exposure to the new programs.
• The driving force for the new curriculum adoptions is the California Mathematics Framework, yet the Framework itself is under attack by mathematicians, parents, and, most significantly, the State Board of Education, which is investigating rewriting the Framework out of cycle to remedy its deficiencies. No consensus in favor of the Framework exists.
• The Standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics form the basis of the California Framework. These Standards have been heavily criticized and are currently being revised.
• San Diego City Schools cannot afford a repeat in math of the disastrous consequences seen with the introduction of Whole Language. Problems are already arising as parents become aware of both the programs their children are entering and the essentially experimental nature of these programs. Parents cannot be expected to continue to accept such changes complacently.
• Teachers are afraid to voice negative opinions about the impending changes to the math curriculum, preventing open evaluation of the programs and leading to a potentially damaging situation in which parents feel that teachers are being less than truthful with them concerning their children's education.

Based on these points, members of Mathematically Correct recommend:

• That the Board act with prudence and caution when it comes to the education of our children;
• That the Board defer the consideration of the pending mathematics adoptions until such time as adequate efficacy data are available;
• That the Board stipulate that existing traditional materials be utilized during this deferral period;
• That the Board encourage the District to obtain substantial studies of program effectiveness, including pre-test post-test designs employing national, standardized tests, such as the Stanford Achievement Test or CTBS, that assess computational ability and other skills;
• That the Board consider and test other newer but non-constructivist math curricula in addition to the constructivist curricula currently under consideration;
• That the Board stipulate that no children shall be enrolled in experimental studies without the informed consent of their parents.

The Membership of Mathematically Correct stands ready to provide supporting materials for their findings and to discuss these issues with board members at their request.