Mathematics News in Brief

NCTM Urges Caution in Using Open Resources

By Jaclyn Zubrzycki — November 15, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is warning of risks that arise when schools rely too heavily on open educational resources.

In a statement released late last month, the organization spells out the need for a “coherent, well-articulated curriculum ... for guiding teacher collaboration, goal-setting, analysis of student thinking, and implementation.”

The statement highlights three major challenges in using the free materials: Teachers may not receive support for creating coherent learning progressions out of the open resources; the quality of resources will vary even more extremely from school to school, presenting an equity challenge; and open education resources won’t offer communities the chance to vet and consider different academic programs.

A version of this article appeared in the November 16, 2016 edition of Education Week as NCTM Urges Caution in Using Open Resources

Events

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
Personalized Learning Webinar
Differentiation That Delivers: Proven Practices From High-Growth Districts
Make every minute count. Proven strategies from educators and leaders driving real student growth. Save your seat!
Content provided by i-Ready, Curriculum Associates
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
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Exposure to Experience: Designing Accessible Work-Based Learning
Learn how schools can create meaningful experiences that help every student build skills, connections, and a clearer path to their future.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
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
School & District Management Webinar
A Tale of Two School Districts: Forecasting Enrollment
Forecasting enrollment is hard. Here’s how two different districts are navigating times of change with data that considers the whole picture.
Content provided by Zonda Education

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

Mathematics Opinion Educators Should Embrace the 'Science of Math.' Here's Why
A neuroscientist explains why research is so critical to students’ understanding of numbers.
•
6 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Mathematics Opinion We’re Hiding the Beauty of Math From Children
We don’t wait until kids are independent readers to read them good stories. Why wait for fun math?
Rochy Flint
•
5 min read
Illustration of a tessellation of hexagons. Some of the shapes are missing, revealing the green background. In some of the hexagons, math problems and diagrams are drawn in pencil or pen, and in the remaining hexagons there are textured solid blue colors, ranging from lighter blue to dark blue.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
Mathematics Why Every Math Educator Is Also a Language Teacher
Vocabulary instruction plays a foundational role in math class say teachers of English learners.
4 min read
Teachers working with English learners attend informative sessions about instruction at the WIDA national conference in St. Louis, Mo. on Sept. 17, 2026. One session addressed how all teachers can teach language through math class.
Teachers working with English learners attend informative sessions about instruction at the WIDA national conference in St. Louis, Mo., on Sept. 17, 2026. One session addressed how all teachers can teach language through math class.
Britt Hueter/WIDA National Conference
Mathematics A Big State Joined the Math Legislation Trend. How Others May Benefit
A new California law requires schools to screen K-2 students for math difficulties, the latest state effort to improve math education.
•
5 min read
A child's hand uses a pen to write math problems in a spiral bound notebook on top of a classroom desk.
A student works on math problems in a 4th grade classroom at William Jefferson Clinton Elementary in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025. The state plans to assess the math skills of K-2 students to identify math difficulties earlier.
Eric Thayer/AP