Many people who are new to the math issue ask, “What does the research say?” and think it’s just a matter of selecting the curriculum with the most favorable research behind it. The current issue of Newsweek explains why, with this story about the sorry state of education research:
Since holding teachers responsible for student performance is now all the rage, from the White House to the political right, let us do a simple thought experiment. Imagine an amateur baseball league in which team owners dictate which bats players use. The owners try to choose the best, but the research on bats is so poor, they have to rely on anecdotes—”Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs with maple!”—and on manufacturers’ claims. As a result, some teams wind up using bats that are too heavy, too fragile, or no better than a broomstick. Does it make sense to cut players who were forced to use ineffective equipment?
It goes without saying that effective teaching has many components, from dedication to handling a classroom and understanding how individual students learn. But a major ingredient is the curriculum the school requires them to use.
