Luna: ‘If we want students to be problem-solvers, they must be good in math’

Among the successes state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna is touting is the use of a Web-based math program called Apangea that students can use for remediation and math practice, as part of his math initiative. “As of today, 35,000 students have received assistance through the Web-based … tool Apangea Math,” Luna told lawmakers. “In the first year students go 40,000 hours doing math in school and at home. Now, in the second year, that number has doubled to nearly 80,000 hours. That’s 80,000, hours the kids are spending in solving complex math problems. … They’re doing it because they enjoy it and they know they’re good at it.” He shared the story of a youngster who talked about how he’d learned problem-solving from math - and how he’d applied that to his own behavior on the school bus. “If we want students to be … problem-solvers, then they must be good in math,” Luna said.