There has been much discussion over the last 5 years on an alleged reading crisis in the United States and the western world (Hanford, 2022). The argument has essentially been that reading achievement scores are falling and that Balanced Literacy is to blame (Hanford, 2022). However, in my opinion the state of Math instruction and test scores is actually far, far worse. In this article, I will review the evidence that there is a systemic problem with Math Achievement.
The Decline
When the power goes out, stores close. It’s not because the lights go out. It’s because the average cashier can no longer calculate how much change to give, without the computer. This is not an isolated problem or weird quirk of our modern times; it’s a phenomenon that reflects a decline in overall Math ability.
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2014: 21% of University of Wisconsin System Freshman Require Remedial Math
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Singapore Math
Discovery Math
Math Forum 2007