Idaho task force to boost elementary math

A group of educators and business representatives is looking to make math more engaging in all areas of Idaho’s school system, from what’s taught and how it is assessed to who teaches it and how they’re trained.

“Elementary students learn a lot of arithmetic, and frankly, it can be boring,” said Teresa Kaiser, a math and science teacher at River City Middle School in Post Falls. “Math, on the other hand, is more of a science. It’s more problem-solving, and I think it’s more engaging than arithmetic.”

The state Department of Education’s 16-person math initiative task force will make recommendations to the Legislature in January about what to change. The effort is similar to a reading initiative the state undertook in the last decade, which was highlighted by the introduction in 2001 of the Idaho Reading Indicator, a quick test given three times a year in kindergarten through third grade to assess reading fluency.

“We’ve been focused on reading, as we should be, but we need to focus on other subjects as well,” said Melissa McGrath, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. “We’ve heard from too many businesses and colleges and universities that too many students need basic remediation.”

State math scores on exams like the Idaho Standards Achievement Test show math proficiency drops as students advance in school. The Coeur d’Alene district’s math scores on the spring ISAT start at 92 percent proficiency for third-graders, then fall to 88 percent for fourth-graders, 80.7 percent for fifth-graders, 78 percent for eighth-graders and 74.3 percent for 10th-graders.

“Elementary math really needs some restructuring in order to get kids ready for algebra,” said Jim Facciano, curriculum director for the Coeur d’Alene School District.

The task force plans to look at all levels of math instruction, said member Christina Tondevold, of Orofino, a math instructor with the Idaho Distance Education Academy.

“We’d like to see a common goal through all the grades,” she said.

Task force members will decide whether a new state math test should be introduced, or if exams like the Idaho Standards Achievements Test and the Direct Math Assessment give a clear picture of progress.

Teachers with a passion for math typically end up in the middle schools and high schools, where they can focus on just that subject, said Facciano, who taught math for 30 years in Coeur d’Alene secondary schools.

“Some of our elementary teachers out there are math ninjas, but I think generally they’re hungry for more instruction strategies they can use,” he said.

Elementary teachers dabble in a variety of subjects, making the training emphasis on how children learn rather than an instructor’s content knowledge, Tondevold said.

“We have to make sure our teachers are balanced in both,” she said.