Dr. Lee Gerard
Deputy Superintendent
Okemos Public Schools
4406 N. Okemos Road
Okemos MI 48864
May 7, 1998
Re: Alternative seventh grade math classes and comments on the proposed middle school math programs
Dear Lee,
We would like to thank the public school for organizing the two parents meetings to examine the middle school math programs. It is clear from the attendance that Okemos parents are concerned about the math education of their children. We appreciate all the math teachers and administrators who spent time formulating the current proposal. The proposal provides an excellent curriculum for the eighth grade honors class. We encourage the school to expand this class by informing parents and students in seventh grade about the requirements for the class and the option of waiver as discussed in points 5 and 11 in the attached comments.
The current proposal undertakes to reconcile the differences between
the Kinawa and Chippewa math programs by including both CMP and non-CMP
textbooks. It is not clear to us how it can be actually implemented as
it is impossible to cover all the materials from both books. Thus, monitoring
the program and providing parents with detailed breakdown and outlines
of the courses as discussed in points 1, 2 and 3 in the attached comments
are necessary. In addition, the small group discussions conducted during
the recent parent meetings revealed big differences in the views of various
teachers regarding math instruction under the current proposal. While many
Chippewa teachers assured us that CMP will be used to enhance traditional
math instruction, Kinawa teachers gave us the impression that predominantly
CMP will be used in classroom teaching with non-CMP textbooks being used
to supplement the CMP materials with examples of math problems. Thus we
are worried that the current proposal will have little effect in the existing
math instruction in Kinawa. We are also concerned that the current proposal
forces Chippewa to move away from a successful math program which parents
support, to a math program incorporating the CMP. The CMP part of the program
has been tested at Kinawa and many parents have expressed concerns about
the program.
Most importantly, the proposal fails to resolve our initial concerns about the CMP program: that children have different learning styles. These concerns led to the two school board meetings where parents asked the schools to consider offering “non-CMP” math as an option in the middle schools. To address the needs of seventh grade students who may have been disadvantaged by their participation in the past middle school CMP classes, we propose a modification of the existing proposal by adding an option for seventh grade students.
We propose that an alternative seventh grade class be provided in the middle school math program. This class would use a teaching approach that has a structured learning environment which is more typical of what we refer to as “traditional” or “non-CMP” math. Textbooks other than the CMP materials would be used, and there would be de-emphasis of CMP insistence on discovery methods, extensive journal writing, extensive use of manipulatives, and group projects. The class should not discourage the use of formulas and standard algorithms. It should minimize the use of calculators in solving trivial problems.
Until this year, seventh grade students had two mathematics options. Our proposed modification would rely on the same administrative means to offer choice in seventh grade math. We urge the teachers and administrators to include our proposed modification in the final proposal.
We would also like to see that similar alternative class is offered to the incoming sixth grade students. We therefore urge the teachers and school administrators to examine choice option for sixth grade as discussed in point 9 in the attached comments.
For your information, we attach our detailed comments regarding the draft math proposals. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of us.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
Betty Tsang, Ewa Danielewicz, Mark Dykman, Paul Fredollino, Debbie Isom, Kerry Jurmu, Linda Koons, Bill Lynch, Merry Morash, Katherine See
CC: Members of Okemos Board of Education, Dan Wertz, Tom Tweedy, Barb Hoevel, Deb Chamberlain
Comments to Okemos Middle Schools Mathematics Program
1. To clarify how the combined approach works, we ask the teachers to provide detailed course outlines or syllabi including learning objectives, in chronological order with approximate time schedules. Similar syllabi have been provided by the Kinawa teachers for the seventh grade students participating in Algebra this year. These are very helpful to parents.
2. It is not clear to us what “mix” of CMP and traditional math instruction will be used. A detailed break-down of the exact type of materials or textbooks used for specific topics or sub-topics is necessary. Specific page numbers would be most helpful. Without the breakdown, it is difficult to understand how the materials of two textbooks can be covered in one year.
3. Monitoring how the program is doing is extremely important to find out how students learn best. Standardized test scores are not a reliable indicator since many parents are currently investing considerable time supplementing or providing substitutes for the current math being taught in Okemos. We suggest that a critical evaluation of the new math program through survey be conducted several times during the coming school year where the experiences of teachers, students and parents will be systematically studied and used to improve the program. We urge the school to involve a representative group of parents in the construction and analysis of the survey. Samples should be taken of parents to be surveyed, and efforts made to obtain a very high response rate.
4. The flow charts give parents information regarding the overall math education in the middle school and how this is related to the high school math programs. Nearly 90% of Okemos High School graduates go on to college. It is important that students and their parents realize early that certain courses taken in middle school may narrow the options available to them later. For this reason, all incoming fifth grade parents should be given the flow charts. Furthermore, it is important that the middle schools provide high quality math programs in sixth and seventh grades to prepare the majority of eighth grade students to take the honors math classes.
5. The proposed eighth grade honors math class provides a very good curriculum. The listed non-CMP textbook is the new edition of Algebra I, Glencoe. An older edition of that book is currently used in the Algebra Honors class in Chippewa. According to some parents and students, it is a very good book. In comparison, the newer edition is more colorful but provides less rigorous mathematics instruction. If the district wants to save money and provide high quality education, it is not necessary to purchase the new edition.
6. In contrast, the proposed regular eighth grade class is a very weak program. The math content of the textbook Pre-Algebra, Glencoe, is at a lower academic level than that contained in the proposed seventh grade textbook.
7. The proposed seventh grade non-CMP book, Algebra One Interactions, Course One, by Holt et al is more CMP-like than “traditional”. The mathematics content of this book is high but we are concerned about the extensive use of calculators on trivial problems and the use of color tiles to solve Algebra problems. We encourage the teachers to examine an alternative text with parents input.
8. By the Fall of 1998, most seventh graders at Kinawa have had one year of CMP class and students at Chippewa have been exposed to some CMP math. We feel strongly that seventh graders at both middle schools should have an option to choose non-CMP classes as described in the cover letter.
9. The current proposal does not offer choice for sixth graders. A non-CMP class should also be available to these students. Some parents told us that the proposed non-CMP book, Exploring Mathematics 7, ScottForesman, had been used successfully in sixth grade before and is a very good book. Since a class based mainly on the book has been a tested alternative, we urge the school to examine this option.
10. For high ability sixth and seventh graders, skipping a grade is an appropriate option for some, but not all. Thus we urge that the schools provide instruction to those students who pretest successfully on selected units, rather than be “sent off to the corner” to work by themselves on worksheets. It may be necessary to hire aides in the math classes so that these students are not neglected.
11. To ensure that all students can take advantage of various options including pretests and skipping grades or taking math classes at the high school, it is important that these classes be widely publicized and that all students are invited to take the qualifying “tests”. Past experience shows that test scores and teacher recommendations miss many high ability students. The schools are commended for providing the parent/student waiver forms. The school should clarify that these classes are provided on demand rather than on a space available basis.
12. We encourage the formation of a task force consisting of the math teachers who met previously to formulate the current proposal. This task force should continue meeting to sort out problems encountered in implementing the programs. The task force should include parent representatives from both schools and a range of grades. These representatives should be charged with obtaining and communicating the views of other interested parents.