Once upon a time, two-digit multiplication was an exercise
in computation: multiply one digit through, add a zero, then multiply the
second digit through, and finally add the two together. But Common Core,
despite its promise, has reinvented and
obfuscated this simple process. True to its emphasis of having all
levels of mathematics explained in words (more on this in the "Four Corners and a Diamond" post), Common Core offers a verbose explanation of how to solve
43 X 25. This is a photograph of a math workbook of a fourth grader whose Long
Island parochial school has adopted the Common Core. The book has the Common
Core stamp on the cover. The teacher is required to teach the students
according to the outline on this page, not according to the traditional method.
Have a look:
Just as with the Common Core method for subtracting 13-4 (see post "What's 13-4? Don't Ask Common Core"), in this example the concept of place value has been elevated over the ability to solve the problem in the most straightforward manner possible. This place value method is articulated in standard CCSS.Math.Content.4.NBT.B.5. Rather than add two sets of numbers in the end, students now need to add four, keeping track all the way, as the fourth grader did in this photograph.
It is worth noting that the fourth grader is required by his teacher to solve two-digit multiplication in this manner. He understands the traditional way of multiplying but not the Common Core way, and he has therefore performed poorly--and been reduced to tears more than once--on his math tests that require the obfuscated method.
And the worst part: this boy scored in the 97th percentile on his Iowa Test of Basic Skills in mathematics, yet he cannot handle the Common Core methodology. His mother and father each sit with him to complete his homework every night. If this boy is struggling this much, how will the children of average or below-average intelligence fare? How will students who do not have parents to help them with their homework fare?
Yet American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten somehow believes that Common Core standards "have the potential to disrupt the cycle of increasing poverty and economic and social stratification by making essential skills and knowledge available to all children, not just some."
It seems to me that Common Core will push these students farther behind.
What is worse, your misperception of common core, or your blatant lies in the guise of journalism? There is no such child, and you have no idea if said child is reduced to tears. How could you? Were you there when the supposed tests were taken? Also, if the 4th Grader cannot solve the problem in 4 steps, then he cannot solve it in two and must not understand the math as well as you think he does. The example you give above merely asks the student to multiply some multiple of ten by another multiple of ten, multiply two single digits, and multiply a multiple of ten by a single digit. If he cannot do that, then he cannot multiply a two digit number by a two digit number and doesn't understand the math. This article is a farce.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Ratz:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the professionalism and good will in your criticism. The child whom you claim does not exist is the son of my colleague; she related the stories to me, including his percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The photo is of her son's math book. And why do you assume that if the child cannot figure out a four step problem, he must not be able to figure out a two step problem? Sitting with my own children of a similar age, I see daily how the less steps involved, the better able they are to focus on the core of the problem. As I mentioned, my criticism of Common Core is that it asks children to perform abstract thinking that is beyond their intellectual capabilities. I invite you to read your fifth sentence to a fourth grader and see if he or she has any idea what it means. The confusion you will see on the child's face will show you that my arguments about Common Core are not the farce that you allege.