East Valley schools reach math compromise
East Valley School District may have found a way to beat the “math wars” by giving both sides what they want.
The East Valley Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt both Core-Plus and Glencoe Mathematics for high school students, Everyday Mathematics as the curriculum for preschool, and Growing with Mathematics for grades K-5.
As math scores across the state remain dismal, the debate over mathematics curricula continues.
East Valley is one of the few districts that will offer both traditional math and integrated math in its high school curriculum.
Integrated math, or new math, is favored by many math educators. It’s an inquiry-based curriculum where students use critical thinking to find answers to problems. Algorithms are learned later.
Beginning this fall, ninth-graders have the option of taking Core-1, the first part of the Core-Plus curriculum for students who will be more successful with the integrated method.
On the other side are mathematicians, parent groups and technical professionals who prefer traditional math.
East Valley will also offer Glencoe Mathematics, a traditional track of geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus and calculus for students who favor this method of learning.
Lakeside High School in the Nine Mile School District also offers Core-Plus and a traditional track. Nine Mile board members decided to offer both after parents in the district protested the curriculum of only Core-Plus.
Spokane Public Schools and Central Valley School District offer only the Core-Plus curriculum.
Statewide preliminary WASL scores indicate that about 53.9 percent of 10th-graders are meeting the math standard. Scores for East Valley 10th-graders are about par with the state average. “We need to make a change. We need to make a good change. We want a higher percentage of students to understand mathematics,” said Roger Jamison, head of the math department at East Valley High School and chairman of the Instructional Materials Committee.
The Instructional Materials Committee is a group of teachers, parents and administrators who made the curriculum recommendation to the school board.
Jamison said that Core-Plus aligns with state required Essential Academic Learning Requirements and Grade Level Expectations; Core-Plus will boost WASL scores, provide an option for different learning styles, and offer the best transition from middle school to high school mathematics.
Not every East Valley Instructional Materials Committee member agreed on the choice of Core-Plus.
Tim Christensen, a parent in the district and an electrical/computer engineer at Agilent Technologies, petitioned the board to table the recommendation for further study and review.
The decision by the East Valley board wasn’t without controversy. While the board voted unanimously to adopt Core-Plus and the other curriculum, it was less than enthusiastic.
Board chairman Mike King expressed the board’s disappointment that such an important and controversial matter was brought to them so late in the year.
“If this was decided earlier we could have had more input from parents,” King said.