Special-Interest Groups Confront National Math Panel

Chapel Hill, N.C.

A national panel reviewing teaching and learning in mathematics heard from advocates for minority students and non-native English-speakers at a recent public forum here, as well as from a women’s professional organization that objected to decades-old research published by the panel’s vice chairwoman.

The White House-appointed National Mathematics Advisory Panel listened to the concerns of a cross section of speakers, including teachers, academic researchers, and even designers of classroom products, at its second meeting, held June 28-29 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

One of the 27 speakers was Karen S. Norwood, the president of the Benjamin Banneker Association, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the performance of black students in math. She beseeched the panel to examine available research on the disadvantages many minority children face in math classes, and what can be...