Poor WASL results lead to new math curriculum
Monday, February 4, 2008 5:39 AM PST
By Carrie Pederson
cpederson@tdn.com
Printable version
E-mail this articleLocal math teachers say the state's new math expectations will be more rigorous but also more focused.
Before the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction delivered revised math standards to legislators Thursday, nearly 1,000 of the state's math educators convened in Spokane to comment.
Among them were Longview math teachers Deb Gribskov and Gunnar Guttormsen, Kelso High School's Jennifer Kennedy and several other local teachers.
OSPI was tasked with revising state math standards in response to low scores statewide on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
To match the rigor of other states' and national math standards, Washington students will need to know some algebra II by the time they graduate.
That could mean an additional year of math in high school, since they currently are only required to take algebra I.
Despite the more advanced math, students won't be required to grasp as many concepts, teachers say. Students will learn more ways to apply key concepts in the math curriculum, making the concepts easier for students to retain.
It's "extremely relieving," said Gunnar Guttormsen, math teacher at Monticello Middle School. "Now I can focus on one content in each quarter," he said, rather than being required to cram in nine concepts each year.
Students will have more time to practice each different "content," or concept, he said; for example, finding the change in volume and surface area of a three-dimensional shape.
There is an opportunity for "so much deeper understanding," Guttormsen said.
"If we're doing a better job of making better connections, we shouldn't have to go back" and review, he said.
"Connections" on how to use math concepts can be realized in other classes as well.
That's why teachers of electives such as art, wood shop and science are thinking about how they can incorporate the core math concepts into their classes, said Deb Gribskov, math coach at high schools and middle schools in Longview.
"Making the connections strengthens the concept," she said.
Teachers are optimistic about the new standards, but there are still some concerns.
"There is concern that our current scores are low, and you're increasing the rigor," Guttormsen said.
In the long term, all districts must hire more math teachers, Gribskov said.
Also at the conference there was a loud voice about the need for consistent math vocabulary, Guttormsen said. Teachers are asking to know what language the state will associate with each math concept.
The standards will be reviewed by the State Board of Education's Mathematics Panel on Feb. 11. A final draft will go to the Legislature on Feb. 29.
In her budget, Governor Christine Gregoire has lent support to helping teachers get students to pass the WASL.
She proposes reducing the length of the WASL math exam for students in the third through eighth grades (but not for grade 10), which would mean less testing time, quicker results and more savings.
She has included money in her budget to create shorter classroom tests that teachers can use to determine whether students are on track to pass WASL and another set to diagnose when they fail.
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