In Favor of Everyday Math; Middleton Cross Plains Math Scores Soar

Angela Bettis:

The most recent research from the U.S. Department of Education shows that American 15-year-olds are behind their International counterparts when it comes to problem solving and math literacy.

The report showed the U.S. ranks 24th out of 29 nations.

But a math program, gaining in popularity, is trying to change that. The program is called Everyday Math.

Lori Rusch is a fourth grade teacher at Middleton's Elm Lawn Elementary. This year she teaches an advanced math class.

On Monday, students in Rusch's class were mastering fractions and percentages.

But her students began learning fractions and percentages in first grade.

"We've been incredibly successful with it," said Middleton's curriculum director George Marvoulis. "Our students on all of our comparative assessments like WKCE, Explorer Plan, ACT, our students score higher in math than any other subject area so we've been very pleased."

According to Marvoulis, Middleton was one of the first school districts in the nation to use the Everyday Math program in 1994.

"The concept is kind of a toolbox of different tools they can use to solve a problem," explained Marvoulis.

Related: Math Forum and Clusty Search on Everyday Math. Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 5, 2009 6:58 AM
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