Reply to Excellent summary about what is so wrong about the MCPS math curriculum

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous

Nope, I should have said algorithmic fluency.  To multiply three-digit numbers takes understanding but it also takes a bunch of single-digit calculations.  Nine multiplication and six additions before carries (I could program a computer to do it).  Mess up any of those and the answer is wrong.  That may happen because basic facts are weak (or just slow enough that concentration falters) or because there hasn't been enough practice executing the chosen method, [i]lack of fluency[/i].  I was referring to the latter.  Yes, all the methods work and they aren't even very different.  But the time spent wading through methods actually comes at the expense of practice.  This same meticulousness is needed for Algebra just as much as the understanding is.[/quote]

It may come at the expense of practice but it comes at the benefit of understanding.

For what it's worth, I haven't noticed any weakness in basic facts under Curriculum 2.0. On the contrary, in fact. For my pre-2.0 kid, the principal and teachers explicitly told the parents that it was the parents' responsibility to make sure that the kid learned their math facts. For my 2.0 kid, there was lots and lots and lots of repetition in class. In fact, this is one of the things that people specifically complain about on DCUM.[/quote]

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