Preface

Each fall, a new class of five-year-olds enters our public schools—eager, bright-eyed, and hopeful that the mysteries of letters and numbers will be unlocked for them. Each spring another graduating class marches across the platform to receive their high school diplomas, many far less eager and hopeful than they were in kindergarten. We've "had" these students for thirteen or fourteen years and too many have failed to reach the levels of literacy and numeracy that will enable them to succeed in higher education, in work, or even in life. We've lost count of the numbers who never made it to "Pomp and Circumstance."

Reading was my first passion and I have turned the educational spotlight on literacy in every educational position I have held. As a classroom teacher, learning center teacher/librarian, elementary school principal, and finally as assistant superintendent for instruction, I was relentless in my pursuit of reading and writing proficiencies for all students, but especially for those who came to school without the background and readiness to read: those students who spoke another language, were poor and hungry, or whose hours were filled with violent TV rather than nursery rhymes and picture books.

Since retiring from public education, I have written The Principal's Guide to Raising Reading Achievement (1998) and have introduced hundreds of principals in both the United States and Canada to the need for research-based reading curricula, well-trained teachers, and strong instructional leadership. Reading is still my passion, but I have also become increasingly distressed by another critical problem in our schools—innumeracy. The mathematical version of illiteracy is just as widespread and serious as its reading counterpart, but unfortunately it's not a cause that spouses of politicians or professional basketball players adopt and promote. Innumeracy is rarely mentioned in presidential speeches nor do we have a Mathematics Is Fundamental Foundation. Our failure to produce numerate graduates is as much a national disgrace as our illiteracy rate, but we can more easily sweep innumeracy under the carpet. After all we have calculators and computers to compensate for our mathematical gaps. Unfortunately, while technology may enable us to cope with the more mundane mathematical demands of life, it can't supply "the appreciation and understanding of information which is presented in mathematical terms, for instance in graphs, charts or tables, or by references to percentage increase or decrease. "[Technology] can't help us understand the ways in which mathematics can be used as a means of communication" (Cockcroft, 1982, para. 34).

In 1983 I became an elementary school principal in a small K-8 district in the suburbs of Chicago. Although the district was home to affluent areas where upwardly mobile young executives moved their growing families into burgeoning subdivisions, my K-6 school fronted on railroad tracks in the central downtown. The building was old, the playground was rusty, and the fading, peeling paint in the hallways was a fitting backdrop for a demoralized veteran faculty. The standardized test scores in both math and reading were abysmal. Students in grades 2-6 as a group were at the 20th percentile in reading and the 17th percentile in math on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. We tackled reading achievement first, with great success. With each succeeding year we reduced the number of students who scored in the bottom quartile. Our scores jumped to the 60th, 70th, and even the 80th percentile in reading. But we soon realized that we could not neglect our math deficiencies.

We discovered that the majority of our sixth grade students failed the junior high school math proficiency test. They were doomed to the low math track for the rest of their academic careers. They would never master algebra, the "gatekeeping" course to advanced learning. Even the doors of our local community college would be closed to them unless we drastically changed our expectations. We determined that it wasn't enough to give our students literacy; we had to provide numeracy as well.

In the 8 years I served as building principal, student achievement in mathematics rose as dramatically as it did for reading. The junior high school mathematics chairperson noticed the trends. "What are you doing over there?" she wondered. "We're phasing out remedial math classes and adding another section of fast-paced math for next year. It's all because of you," she added with a twinkle in her eye.

I smiled broadly, pleased that our efforts were not going unnoticed. "We're doing lots of things," I explained. "Raising expectations for students, focusing on outcomes, eliminating repetitious review, introducing math competitions, and holding teachers accountable for student achievement." I shared the details of our school-business partnership with the George J. Ball Company, an international seed company located in our attendance area. A team of Ball plant pathologists assisted our upper-grade faculty and students in designing experiments to investigate the effects of varying amounts of light and types of fertilizers on germination rate and plant productivity. Our classrooms became greenhouses and our students became researchers. When the experiments were concluded, the junior scientists reported their findings to a standing room only audience of scientists and corporate executives. Then we raised our expectations to an even higher level—the application of our students' learning to a real-world problem—profit and loss.

Since the students had documented the optimum conditions for growing beautiful flowers in our classrooms, the faculty conceived the idea of forming mini-greenhouses to grow and sell plants. The students selected what they believed would be the most marketable plants, purchased the seed from Ball, cultivated several varieties, marketed the flowers with a vigorous advertising campaign, and held a blockbuster Mother's Day Plant Sale. Raising mathematics achievement includes both the mastery of foundational skills and the application of those skills outside of the classroom. We found that while the ability to retrieve facts automatically and a mastery of basic algorithms and mathematical rules were essential, we also needed to provide opportunities for what researchers at the Consortium on Chicago School Research call "authentic intellectual work" (Newmann et. al., 1998, 15).

The critical issues surrounding mathematics achievement are coming to the forefront in the popular press. The United States' poor showing in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 1997) is hard to ignore. Who is responsible for changing this disturbing trend? We all are. As instructional leaders of our schools, educators must make a difference, one student at a time.

I have written The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement with these goals in mind: (a) to convince you of the power that rests in you and your faculty to make numeracy a reality for each of your students; (b) to introduce you to the current controversies in math instruction; c) to set forth some of the most recent research in mathematics instruction so that you and your faculty can make informed decisions; and (d) to share with you how you can change what you're doing to make a powerful difference.

Raising achievement is never easy, but the controversy that currently swirls about mathematics and how best to teach it makes the administrator's task even more challenging. We need to become as informed as possible about the issues, the research, and most particularly about what materials and methods have the potential to produce the achievement we desire for all of our students. We are often totally dependent on subject matter coordinators, teacher training institutions, and national organizations to guide our thinking and practice. When we are confronted by teachers or parents who question or possibly disagree with the recommendations of the experts, we are often forced to defend practices we do not fully understand while also being held accountable for low or declining achievement that we feel powerless to impact. If you have experienced this dilemma, you are not alone. I have walked in your shoes.

The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement is based on a number of strong personal beliefs. My goal is to engage your thinking and aid in your decision making. I hope that by setting forth my beliefs at the outset I will provide a meaningful context in which you can place my recommendations about mathematics instruction.

Regarding the NCTM standards (1989) and its recommendations, I have concerns. I am hopeful that the updated standards to be issued in 2000 will include changes that reflect the input and revisions suggested by professional mathematicians, parents, NCTM members, and classroom teachers who have implemented the standards for a decade. I share the feelings of the Learning First Alliance whose members have recommended submitting comments regarding the revision of the 1989 NCTM Standards. They assert that "the assessment and curriculum structure framework should be influenced by research in mathematics education including what is done in other countries with successful mathematics education programs" (Learning First Alliance, 1998, 13). I regard many of the standards-based textbooks and programs with a healthy degree of skepticism. I believe that results, not good intentions, are what matter most. I believe that professional educators have an obligation to pay attention to what our consumers—parents and taxpayers—feel is important in education. I believe we have a responsibility to communicate with our constituencies in language that is free of jargon and respects the knowledge and expertise of consumers. I believe that achievement is important. I believe that norm-referenced tests are essential for accountability. I believe that students learn best with structure, discipline, and effective instruction. I am not a mathematician, a math educator, or a math researcher. I approach this topic as an administrator who is charged with raising mathematics achievement in my school, the individual who bears the ultimate responsibility for the bottom line. I approach the topic looking for what works.

Who This Book Is For

This book has been written for several audiences. It is primarily intended for school principals at every level to help them develop a plan for raising mathematics achievement in their schools. New administrators or those without a background in math instruction or curriculum will find it especially helpful. It can also be used by mathematics specialists and central office administrators who are evaluating K-12 mathematics programs and formulating district improvement goals. Finally, it can serve as a valuable resource for school improvement teams as they grapple with what needs to change in their schools. The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement can also serve as a source of information for mathematics educators at the college and university level as they seek to make their classroom experiences more relevant to practitioners.

What This Book Is Not

The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement is designed to help you explore possibilities, philosophies, and controversies so that you might be better prepared to exercise instructional leadership. It is not an instructional guide nor does it contain specific strategies or "can do's" for classroom teachers to use in raising math achievement. The recipe or magic bullet for raising math achievement that you may be searching for does not exist. School improvement initiatives need to be rooted in a school's culture and climate and are better framed by a team of teachers in response to the challenges posed by the community and its students. There are answers to the problems of low or declining achievement, but they require study and intellectual application on the part of you and your faculty.

Overview of the Contents

Chapter 1 explores the current state of mathematics achievement in the United States and suggests some of the reasons why our students as a whole don't compare more favorably with their international counterparts.

Chapter 2 provides background and history on mathematics education. The "great debate" in reading has a counterpart in mathematics instruction—"the math wars." In order to make informed decisions about instruction and curriculum in your school, you must understand the key issues in this sometimes acrimonious discussion.

Chapter 3 examines the need for research-based decision making in education. "More often, education resembles such fields as fashion and design in which change mirrors shifts in taste and social climate, and is not usually thought of as true progress" (Slavin, 1989, 752). If you are going to commit your energy and resources to change, make sure you know how to evaluate the claims that a program or innovation is "research-based."

Chapter 4 focuses on what Benjamin Bloom (1980) calls the "alterable variables", the things that you and your faculty can and must change in order to bring students to acceptable levels of numeracy. Too often educators focus on inalterable variables like students' backgrounds or parents' educational levels and fail to recognize how much they really do control. You'll be introduced to six alterable variables and then given concrete, research-based suggestions about how to change the status quo in your school.

Chapter 5 focuses on the "essential learnings" that comprise a comprehensive K-12 mathematics curriculum. These "essentials" are critical regardless of what program or textbooks you choose.

Chapter 6 describes the key components that need to be in place to create a "numerate" school. You'll investigate instructional leadership, shared decision making, planning and goal setting, parental involvement, a well-designed accountability system, and a reasonable improvement time-line.

Finally, Chapter 7 provides thirty-plus ideas you can implement in your school to raise mathematics achievement. There are web sites for teachers, activities and programs for students, and ways for you, the principal, to become more involved in raising mathematics achievement.

I hope that after reading The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement you will be motivated to set about raising mathematics achievement in your school. Changing the attitudes, achievement, and accountability of your students and teachers with regard to mathematics may require some changes on your part as well. It is never too late to become more mathematically literate yourself. Exercise your instructional leadership and creativity to lead your faculty and students to new levels of numeracy!

For a complete list of all of Elaine's titles visit The Bookshelf.