Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Math Computation and Science Skills

December 08, 2009 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

In their Commentary “Will Science and Engineering Now Be a Good Career?” (Nov. 11, 2009), Lindsay Lowell and Hal Salzman claim that over the past few decades, there has been “no decline in the K-12 performance of U.S. students” with respect to the math skills needed to pursue a career in science. But do the data support this finding?

With 134 districts that adopt textbooks independently, my state of Virginia offers a random sample of curricula nationwide. Between 1998 and 2002, scores in math computation for the state’s 9th graders fell from the low 46th percentile to the abysmal 39th percentile. As a chemistry instructor, I saw a generation of students who could no longer balance an equation without a calculator. A poor background in computation creates intense frustration for students.

Why did this happen? Since the 1960s, math textbooks have steadily decreased practice with numbers. After California’s 1992 adoption of math standards by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, “math facts” nearly disappeared from textbooks nationwide. Publishers must serve the California market.

And it wasn’t just textbooks. In my children’s suburban schools, officials forbade teachers to use math flashcards or other “timed drill.” My children were taught that six times seven meant six rows of seven dots. That’s nice, but in the sciences (and other jobs), you need to know six times seven.

Messrs. Lowell and Salzman also report that U.S. universities “are graduating as many scientists and engineers as they ever have.” That’s true. But in 2006, only 33 percent of engineering doctorates awarded in this country went to U.S. citizens, while 37 percent went to citizens of China and India. In electrical engineering, a key field in the technology industry, 23 percent of U.S. doctorates went to U.S. citizens.

Many noncitizens remain here and make enormous contributions to the economy. That said, if we were to prepare more of our own children for careers in science, it would strengthen public support for education, America’s ability to compete, and the freedoms that this nation stands for.

California has adopted improved standards in recent years, and numbers are returning to some math curricula, though the purchase of improved texts is slow, especially when budgets are tight. For American children to be successful in the sciences, we must speed the adoption of standards and textbooks that focus on math computation.

Rick Nelson

Falls Church, Va.

A version of this article appeared in the December 09, 2009 edition of Education Week as Math Computation and Science Skills

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: May 3, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: April 26, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: March 29, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Quiz Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Trending Education News
How well do you know the trending news in education? Test your knowledge by taking our quiz.