Lincoln Schools switches up K-8 math curriculum

As part of the effort to turn around the failing junior High school math scores that played a role in the Lincoln Junior High's accreditation downgrade to "Advice," the Lincoln School District made a significant change to their math curriculum for K-8 students.

This year Lincoln Elementary students bid farewell to Every Day Math, which the school adopted in 2013 to align with the state-mandated Common Core standards.

The new program, Ready Math, also aligns with Common Core but according to EdReports.org, an independent nonprofit that reviews instructional materials, it's also more coherent, rigorous and does a better job of connecting the content of the curriculum with mathematical practices.

"Every Day Math was one curriculum," Lincoln Schools Superintendent Carla Anderson said at the start of the school year. "We decided, 'OK, we tried it. Our scores are not good. Let's go with Ready Math ... and lets see if kids react better to (it).' Hopefully it will be more user friendly and parents will like it better too."

Common Core math is often derided as confusing "fuzzy math," but much of that perception is actually due to the widely used Every Day Math curriculum, which includes the often-ridiculed techniques and questions that seem utterly incomprehensible to parents and, apparently, many students.

Nationally, the Every Day Math has spawned a 'Parents against Everyday Math' Facebook page and prompted Forbes magazine to publish a column that asked the question "Is Everyday Math The Worst Math Program Ever?" According to author Emily Wilingham the answer is yes, probably.

She notes that one of it's main failures is that it doesn't teach kids to systemize, a criticism that reflects a widespread concern that Every Day Math fails to create framework upon which students can build an understanding of what they're trying to do. According to some critics, it leaves many kids without the tools necessary for the higher-level math they begin to encounter in junior high.

"The best way to describe it is, it was an inch deep and a mile wide," 6th grade teacher Katy Spencer said of Every Day Math.

"It was difficult for parents, difficult for students, it was even difficult for teachers," said Travis Williams, who teaches junior high and high school math. "It wasn't organized very well, at least in my opinion. I know that's an opinion other teachers do share."

Spencer said they started to research different programs after new teachers came in and had trouble grasping how to teach it. "We didn't really have the training to teach it well," she said. "I felt like I wasn't doing justice to my students."

As she looked to find ways to do a better job of teaching the curriculum, she discovered Every Day Math wasn't as highly rated as other programs. Ready Math, a program that carries on through 8th grade rather than 6th, stood out.

"Ready is more of a mile deep and an inch wide, so our kids are getting more experience in depth and going into the why, and not just the how," Spencer said.

"It's unlike anything I've ever experienced, either as a student or teacher," Williams said. "It's definitely more quality over quantity. Fewer problems, but deeper questions. From what I've seen so far it's very applicable to the real world."

"It seems to be a lot more structured. They've taken out a lot of the extra little bits and pieces. It's more focused, so the kids are maybe covering fewer concepts, but we're allowed to go in depth on those concepts, which is what Common Core was all about," Williams said

This year maybe a bit of transition, particularly for the elementary students, Williams said. "This is kind of a trial by fire, we're working out the kinks and sharing ideas; sharing what works, sharing what didn't work."

While Ready math will still probably be a departure from what most parents learned in school, the hope is that they will also be better able to understand it.

From a teaching standpoint, Spencer said Ready Math's improved structure is also letting her to do better by her students.

How well Ready Math translates into improved math scores at the junior high level remains to be seen, and it may not happen right away.

"I imagine this first year will be a little bumpy, but beyond that, hopefully..." Williams said.