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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]From a different perspective, my DH teaches at the University level in a field that requires a strong understanding of math. He has noticed over the last several years that his students are woefully unprepared for college level math. They have no deeper understanding of concepts, can't figure out the basics and only have a very surface level comprehension of just about everything. While some memorization is actually important in the math field (ie knowing your multiplication tables etc) he is thrilled that they are slowing down the acceleration of students and getting back to where kids have to know how they got the answer, different ways to solve and look at math. He feels this is a much better approach to math than what has been in place. I'm sure other's that see the end result of the previous push in math will agree with him. There is even remedial college math courses going into the curriculum to cover what the students didn't get from K-12 but need in college. So I suggest people take a bigger picture approach. I also can see the need for adapting how the elementary is taught even under 2.0, our school seems to be vested in making adjustments if they don't feel like its working. [/quote]

I don't doubt that this is what your DH is seeing.  But, I'm not sure that the acceleration per se has been the problem.  In our experience, the problem is how exactly these math concepts are being taught.  I am seeing MCPS teachers who have a very shallow understanding of math, teaching math!  I am seeing MCPS teachers teach how to solve problems by sharing memory devices, encouraging kids to use specific techniques for specific kinds of problems (essentially math by problem format copying), etc., and worse -- problem sets with multiple wrong answers, entire techniques taught to kids where the technique actually provides the wrong answer, etc.!

My older child was accelerated by 2 years in math.  The problems DC1 had in math class were entirely due to poor teaching (as separate from the "curriculum" in terms of what skills were taught when).  The problem was how the teachers teach each math skill.  DC1 was taught to use a rhyme and draw an arrow to complete scientific notation problems.  I finally taught DC1 the underlying math and calculations (which rely on the most basic understanding of basic fractions, decimals and exponents).  After the explanation, you could see the light bulb go off.  I have never, ever seen DC1 draw directional arrows again to do scientific notation problems.  She understands the conceptual basis.

DC2 is has a much better natural understanding of math concepts; however, because DC2 is in the first year of the curriculum wave, he will never receive the acceleration opportunity.  He will now likely not reach scientific notation until much later than DC1, but I would be willing to bet that when he does, the teachers will still be using a rhyme and arrows to teach kids which way to move the decimal in scientific notation.   In fact, just this morning DC2 informed me, "Teacher So and So told me in class that zero was neither even nor odd, but I don't understand, why isn't zero even?  It seems like it should be?"   Hmmmm.  It seems like it should be an even number, because it is even number!

The problem was never acceleration.  It was always the teaching method. [/quote]

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