N E W S F E AT U R E
BY AMY SCHNEIDER
THE CHANGING
FACE OF MATH
Is Common Core math all it’s cracked
up to be?
M
ath gets a bad rap, says Gina Graham, owner
of Eugene tutoring service Math Is Magic!
“We have in our nation a predisposition to
think math is yucky,” she says. “I think that’s
a problem.”
The nation’s relationship with math grew even more
complex with the onset of the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS). When the state of Oregon adopted CCSS in 2010,
parents and students in Eugene School District 4J and other
districts saw an internal shake-up as districts shifted from
older, more direct methods of teaching to newer techniques
in math instruction that fulfill learning requirements outlined
by the Common Core.
This shift, proponents say, is largely positive —
students are not simply memorizing the procedure of two
times two equals four. Under CCSS, they’re also learning
multiple ways of solving a problem as well as the concepts
behind why math works the way it does.
But it also can cause some confusion among parents
who learned math in a completely different way, and
critics say that while the new emphasis on problem solving
has merit, its actual implementation in Oregon has
prevented it from functioning properly due to a lack of
resources and large class sizes.
Math instruction is a hot topic among Eugene parents,
says Heather Sielicki, parent to a second grader at Camas
Ridge Elementary School. “There’s a lot of intimidation
about the change in the way math is taught,” Sielicki says,
noting that she likes the changes.
Maddy Ahearn, math administrator at 4J, says she has
encountered some confusion from 4J parents.
“If there’s any anxiety, it’s things like knowing how to
solve a problem but not knowing if it’s the same way as the
teacher is doing it,” Ahearn says.
She describes CCSS math as a three-legged stool. The
most common understanding of math is simple
computation, but this only represents a portion of what
math is, and the Common Core math standards push
students past memorization, she says.
“Math is also concepts and the relationships between
those concepts. You can have a whole lecture on math with
no numbers at all,” Ahearn says. “And the third part is about
application: Why does math matter in the real world?”
Math tutor Graham says that while she feels neutral
about Common Core math standards — they have good
parts and bad parts — she finds the standardization of
education at odds with “differentiation and individualized
instruction.”
Graham says that “each of us learns and teaches
differently,” and “students who find math natural and
enjoyable can be frustrated by being penalized for not
explaining solutions in full paragraphs, not finding
alternative ways to solve problems or not working in
‘We can’t have
Common Core
without smaller
class sizes.’
—JERRY ROSIEK ,
UO EDUCATION PROFESSOR
AND 4J PARENT
PHOTO BY TODD COOPER
groups” — three scenarios kids might encounter in CCSS-
based curricula.
If kids are having trouble with homework, Ahearn
advises that parents communicate with teachers first —
homework decisions are usually classroom-based, she
says, and teachers know how far their students have
progressed. She also says that parents can ask their
children to teach them unfamiliar techniques.
Ultimately, Ahearn says, struggle is a part of learning how
to solve a problem, and she tells parents to talk with their
kids about developing coping mechanisms when dealing
with frustration rather than solving the problem itself.
“Having that conversation with your child translates
well beyond mathematics,” Ahearn says.
Graham says she questions the advice to let kids
struggle and suffer through math in order to understand it.
“Why are we only talking about this in math?” she asks.
“Is it OK for them to cry because they don’t know how to
say ‘stop’ in Spanish? Should we just let them cry and
figure it out? No, we wouldn’t do that.”
She adds that, in public education, large class sizes and a
focus on grades can detract from learning on an individual
level. “Differentiation in education is essential, and when
we lose sight of this, we cease to educate,” Graham says.
At Oak Hill School, a private school in Eugene, class
sizes in math for middle and high school students range
from eight to 12 students, says Josh Melton, upper school
head at Oak Hill.
The median class size in 4J is 27 students, according to
the Oregon Department of Education. At Roosevelt Middle
School, the median class size for math is 35.
“What I like about smaller class sizes is that it’s easier
to facilitate collaboration, and it’s also easier to meet the
students individually at their needs,” Melton says.
“Because our teachers work so directly with students and
know them well, I think they have the ability to differentiate
within the curriculum in ways that are meaningful.”
As a private school, Oak Hill does not require
curriculum aligned to CCSS, and Melton says that Oak
Hill leans toward traditional methods of teaching math
while incorporating new ideas like project-based learning.
Jerry Rosiek, a UO education professor and 4J parent,
says he doesn’t take issue with the Common Core’s focus
on “higher-level cognitive skills,” but in practice, Common
Core curriculum “remains tied too closely to the
standardized tests, which still emphasize basic skills.” The
Smarter Balanced test, which Oregon students took for the
first time last year, consists partly of multiple-choice
questions, which don’t accurately assess higher-level
thinking skills, Rosiek says.
Additionally, he says, Oregon’s underfunded school
system results in large class sizes and little money directed
toward teacher training, leading to underprepared teachers
and a lack of ability to teach curriculum correctly with too
many students in a classroom. “We can’t have Common
Core without smaller class sizes,” Rosiek says.
Sielicki says she thinks that CCSS and Smarter
Balanced testing are separate issues, and after volunteering
in her child’s classroom and seeing math taught firsthand,
she appreciates “the underlying message that there’s more
than one way to solve a problem.”
She says parents should go online to watch Common
Core math being taught, or sit in on their child’s classes.
“Most people who see it in action are really excited about
it because it does make so much sense,” Sielicki says.
Graham says that math has always involved multiple
ways of solving problems, and the unfamiliar terminology
accompanying CCSS math doesn’t necessarily mean it’s as
new and different as it seems.
“I can lay out six different ways to do multiplication.
There’s not a right way,” Graham says. “But there is a way
that works for a particular kid. And how do you figure that
out? Probably not in a classroom with 40 kids and no
teacher’s aid.” ■
For those interested in how math is taught in 4J, Ahearn recommends visiting
4j.lane.edu/instruction/math.
eugeneweekly.com • January 21, 2016
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