Does Math Matter? (or, Why Math Matters)

Math matters, and it will take clear standards, inspiring teachers, and attention to our international neighbors to get at "the right math," according to the practitioners and reformers who addressed reporters at this session.

The three men -- Michael Cohen, president of Achieve; John Ewing, president of Math for America; and Mike Lindstrom, director of SciMathMinnesota -- agreed that academic standards and quality teachers are both important to increasing math achievement.

"If all (schools) do is raise the bar ... all you get is more frustration and more failure," said Cohen, of Achieve, a governors- and business-led nonprofit at the front end of the standards movement.

The key to success comes in translating those standards into the classroom, which requires teachers who are able to convey concepts as well as facts, and who inspire kids to see the oft-feared subject as key to their future -- and the country's.

"Not every teacher has to be Mr. Chips," said Ewing, referring to the fictional British boarding-school teacher. But respect for a profession that sees a high turnover rate, and a willingness to invest in bringing in good teachers who are in it for the long haul, are "foundational."

Ewing's program pays teachers $20,000 a year on top of their salaries as an incentive to go through their program, which emphasizes training and mentorship. To scale that up would take billions of dollars, but billions of dollars well spent, he said. "You could transform education."

Ewing derided any notion that standards are "a kind of secret formula that's supposed to be solving the crisis."

Still, the example of Minnesota shows that paying close attention to what's expected of kids -- and when -- can be a catalyst for getting out of the rut of routine, said Lindstrom, who said the key for his state was in looking overseas. "We can learn a lot from other countries."

Minnesota has seen its rankings on the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) test surpass the United States average and near that of powerhouses like Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong. It has done it by looking at how high-scoring countries lay out their math expectations, Lindstrom said.

In 1995, when his group first looked at the issue, other countries focused on a very narrow set of math skills at each grade level, while American schools crammed everything in, every year. "You never gained mastery."

Today, Minnesota's standards more reflect the international approach. But the tougher work remains, Lindstrom said. "The low-hanging fruit has been picked."

The common thread to each speaker's comments was that math is more than an algorithm -- it is central to building up high school graduates (and beyond) who can do more than calculate a restaurant server's tip. "Mathematics becomes a way of thinking," Lindstrom said.