Content and Context Moving Math Forward

Why does the United States do well on TIMSS but so poorly on PISA?

Uri Treisman (Executive Director, Charles A. Dana Center, and Professor of Mathematics and Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin) gives the answer as part of his presentation on how to restructure the content and practices of high school mathematics to build a better "on ramp" to college.

TIMSS tests on the traditional course subjects, the focus of American education reform, notes Treisman. PISA, however, asks if 15-year-olds can actually use what they learn in school to solve unfamiliar problems. Moving forward with common core standards, we need to balance between knowing massive amounts of content and giving students opportunities to practice that knowledge in unfamiliar contexts, Treisman advises.

To Treisman, high school algebra is the burial ground for the aspirations of many students in part because "almost no one uses the content of these courses in their subsequent university courses." So why are these gatekeeper courses determining who goes to college? Kids who drop out of these math classes are the same kids who drop out of school, says Treisman. At the other end of the spectrum, students who need more challenges aren't finding them in high school math.

"We've gotten as much as we can out of teaching all kids something," he says, speaking about developmental math classes and schools where math performance has plateaued. "The next period of educational change is how do we move from teaching all students something, to teaching all students a lot. Teachers will need much deeper content knowledge and systems to support learning and activities that formerly very few kids took part in."

You can check out all five parts of Treisman's presentation at Education Commission of the States's recent National Forum on Education Policy, as well as other presentations on the ECS YouTube site.