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New math
The first edition of Warren Colburn's First Lessons in Arithmetic became available in the United States. As the first "new math," this program of study was designed to lead even very young children (five or six years old) through the discovery of the concepts of numbers and operations. The process is the converse of the old rule method in which abstract characters and patterns were presented first and exercised until one was proficient enough to try a practical problem. -
Society's view on math's usefulness.
Arithmetic drills could last up to one-half of every school day, without much learning occurring. From the 1840s to the 1950s, American society predominantly viewed the role of mathematics as solely for social utility. World War II also marked the beginning of the U.S. government's interest in mathematics education as a matter of national defense -
psychology studies suggest putting off math education
G. Stanley Hall's child studies in the 1880s were valuable for promoting the use of manipulatives and experience in teaching and for motivating research in cognitive development. His suggestions to postpone much of mathematics education to later years. It was this devaluation of mathematics which led to the founding of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1920 (Willoughby, p.11). -
John Dewey
In the 1920s/30's, Dewey became famous for pointing out that the authoritarian, strict, pre-ordained knowledge approach of modern traditional education was too concerned with delivering knowledge, and not with understanding students' actual experiences. Dewey's theory of experience rested on two central tenets -- continuity and interaction. He influenced the way teachers approach their instruction. -
Mathematical Association of America made new recommendations.
Topics in algebra and geometry were recommended to be introduced in junior high and it was suggested that all students complete the program through eighth grade. Only those who mastered continue on. Statistics, shop mathematics, surveying, navigation, or descriptive geometry were suggested for others who chose not to follow the college preparatory progression (Bidwell & Ciason, p.382-460). -
National Defense Education Act created NDEA
After the Soviet Union launched the first satellite in space, every American was concerned with the quality of math/science education. The NDEA developed a number of textbooks for all grade levels with emphasis on math structure, the real number system, careful use of language and deductive proofs, discovery, experimentation, and scientific applications. These were meant as a model for commercial publishers who soon followed with appropriately revised textbooks (Willoughby, p.46). -
NCLB act
Renewed the elementary and secondary act and added the Title 1 provision. The Act did not assert a national achievement standard. Each state developed its own standards. NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through further emphasis on annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, and teacher qualifications, as well as changes in funding. -
Common Core
The creation of Common Core math standards meant that states were now using the same set of standards, so assessments were comparing apples to apples. They focus on conceptual understanding and application rather than drills and memorization. -
Every Child Succeeds Act
This act is in place of NCLB. It gives states more leeway to determine how to rate and intervene with schools. It reduces the federal government's role in education.