A new “fuzzy” math program (College Preparatory Mathematics – CPM) is being piloted in our district and likely to be voted and purchased in April. CPM teaches more social skills than mathematics. Fairfield Curriculum Leaders stress the impetus for change to this math program is the Common Core Standards…
We would love for you to cover this story… please consider it!
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/F...ob-4109282.php
http://fairfield.patch.com/articles/...m-algebra-book
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/C...am-4175992.php
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/F...ob-4109282.php
http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.co...ew-4089730.php
http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.co...ly-4099431.php
Just to fill you in–I am part of the parent advocacy group that is fighting the imminent adoption of CPM in our middle and high schools in Fairfield, CT. The district secretly implemented it without BOE approval and we’re trying to challenge them on the technicality of state statutes that require BOE to approve texts. In the meantime, we’re educating parents on the failure of reform math, in particularly CPM.
Unfortunately, we are up against a BOE that thinks the curriculum leaders are “experts.” The curriculum leaders are justifying this transition to a new math program with Common Core and the Mathematical Practices’ call for justifying one’s work and critiquing others,’ etc.
At all five math nights in our district, our administrators have misrepresented the practices by saying “conceptual understanding must come before skill.”
Our district was recently cited in the The Atlantic. Barry Garelick states that “schools are adopting an inquiry method of learning, in which children are supposed to discover knowledge for themselves” but he states that districts are misinterpreting the verbiage of the common core.”
Mr. Garelick also wrote to me and directed me to a comment in the blog of this article from one of the main authors of the common core standards. McCallum states that the standards do not say that conceptual understanding must come first and explicitly on page 5 of the standards it says: “these standards do not dictate curriculum or teaching methods.” Our curriculum leaders continue to present misinformation to parents, either because they are do not understand the common core math practices or they are intentionally misleading our community to push an alternative agenda.
(See his letter to us.)
http://fairfieldmathadvocates.com/on...core-practice/
CPM is a prescriptive form of teaching mathematics with social engineering as the guiding principle: social responsibility, equity, multidimensional classrooms, group think vs teacher instruction, etc. “Complex Instruction” is the guiding principles behind CPM instructional method.(see article about “complex instruction”). If this program is adopted by our district, there has and will continue to be a push to sell this program (CPM) to our surrounding districts who are also looking for ways to get students “ready for the 21st century”. This program is dumbing down Mathematics!
Our group noticed that NBC recently covered a story on “Is Algebra Necessary?” with a tie in to Jo Boaler…Jo Boaler is a proponent of CPM. She and Megan Staples did a research study called Railside ( an urban school in CA – San Lorenzo) with CPM. Her research is being seriously challenged by math professors (Bishop, Wayne, and Clopton) who are questioning the validity of this study. Megan Staples is a UConn Professor who has been observing Algebra I classes in our district this year (without parents’ knowledge) and she is on the Fairfield Curriculum Review Committee (which is only looking at this program and nothing else).
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-n...64372#50264372
(See studies attached to review her study and the controversy)
Our group has spoken to numerous professors and advocacy groups on the west coast about this program, as well as advocacy groups and professors on the east coast (penfield, ny/ brandford, ct/ Yale Univeristy/ Brown University) about other reform math programs (IMP) and CPM. These programs have unproven track records, yet are still around. I urge you to look at our website
www.fairfieldmathadvocates.com