Making Math Count Pages 8-14

Fractions and algebra represent the most subtle, powerful, and mind-twisting elements of school mathematics. But how can we teach them so students understand? Much to the surprise of those who care about such things, mathematics has become the 600-pound gorilla in U.S. schools. High-stakes testing has forced schools to push aside subjects like history, science, music, and art in a scramble to avoid the embarrassing consequences of not making “adequate yearly progress ” in mathematics. Reverberations of the math wars of the 1990s roil parents and teachers as they seek firm footing in today's turbulent debates about mathematics education. Much contention occurs near the ends of elementary and secondary education, where students encounter topics that many find difficult and some find incomprehensible. In earlier decades, schools simply left students in the latter category behind. Today, that option is neither politically nor legally acceptable. Two topics—fractions and algebra, especially Algebra II—are particularly troublesome. Many adults, including some teachers, live their entire lives flummoxed by problems requiring any but the simplest of fractions o