A reader writes:
“If the district is perfectly happy with Investigations, why do we have an Action Plan?”
This is a question that deserves an answer, even if it was posed rhetorically. The introduction of the Action Plan at the time that the Board voted on the purchase of the second edition of “Investigations” on June 22, 2009 can be explained in one of two ways:
Possibility #1: The District came to regard “Investigations” as flawed in the months leading up to the Board vote, and proposed the Action Plan as a remedy. In “Math Night” presentations last winter, the traditional “algorithms” (like carrying and borrowing) were derided by curriculum coordinators as being conducive to error; they showed slides that illustrated how students were “misunderstanding the algorithm”. As late as May 4, curriculum coordinators stated at a Board meeting that the introduction of the second edition of “Investigations” would be accompanied by a reduction in the use of supplemental materials. Between that time and June 22, however, the same coordinators had made a 180 degree turn. The algorithms that are so easily misunderstood by students became the centerpiece of the Action Plan, and elaborate plans for supplementing “Investigations” were described. This seems logically inconsistent, which is presumably why the reader asked the question. This leaves …
Possibility #2: The District administrators’ confidence in “Investigations” never waned and they do not believe the Action Plan is necessary, but they proposed it nevertheless to clear the way for the Board to purchase Investigations amid much parent criticism.
Is the Action Plan as it is proposed a positive thing? Sure. (Whether the Action Plan does what it purports to do, such as implementing rigorous standards similar to California’s or giving meaningful attention to algorithms, is the subject of another post.) A more important question is why we don’t have a core math curriculum that does not require an Action Plan, letters of explanation to parents, etc. It’s like we somehow bought a car that doesn’t have doors or seatbelts. At first the dealer insists that the fresh air will do wonders for us, but then he finally relents and gives us a length of clothesline to tie in the passengers. Definitely an improvement, but why aren’t we going car shopping?
