The Principal's Guide to Raising Math

The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement is a practical, quick-read resource to help K-12 principals gain the tools they need to lead their schools to mathematics excellence. Readers will learn how students in the United States compare with their international counterparts in math achievement, read about what the experts recommend be done to increase our lagging achievement, gain an understanding of the current debate regarding how mathematics should be taught, discover what important components need to be in place in their schools, and find out what current research is telling us about the best ways to teach mathematics. McEwan presents eight key components of a successful mathematics program, and convinces principals of the power that rests within them and their teachers to eliminate innumeracy among their students.

Preface

ix

Who This Book Is For

xii

What This Book Is Not

xii

Overview of the Contents

xii

Acknowledgments

xiii

About the Author

xiv

Mathematics Achievement: Where Do We Stand?

1

(8)

What's So Important About Math?

2

(1)

What's the Score?

3

(1)

What's the Problem?

4

(1)

What Can We Learn From the TIMSS?

4

(2)

What Was the Purpose of the Testing?

4

(1)

Who Was Tested and When Did the Testing Occur?

5

(1)

Who Administered the Tests?

5

(1)

Where Can Copies of the Actual Reports Be Obtained?

5

(1)

Which Countries Participated?

5

(1)

What Aspects of Mathematics Learning Were Tested?

6

(1)

What Are the Results?

6

(1)

Why Isn't the United States More Competitive?

6

(2)

What Can You Do?

8

(1)

The Math Wars: Drill Versus Discovery

9

(9)

Are We Condemned to Repeat the Past?

10

(1)

The 1989 NCTM Standards

11

(1)

The Math Wars

12

(3)

The State of the Standards in the New Millennium

15

(1)

How Do Students Learn Mathematics?

15

(3)

Research-Based Decision Making

18

(10)

Qualitative Research

20

(2)

Explanatory Research

20

(1)

Descriptive Research

21

(1)

Indicators of Quality Quantitative Research

22

(2)

Qualitative Research

24

(1)

Indicators of Quality Qualitative Research

24

(1)

The Power of Size

25

(1)

Literature Reviews

25

(1)

Meta-Analyses

26

(1)

Fact or Fancy?

26

(1)

Opinion and Theory Building

26

(1)

Follow the Citations

26

(1)

Where's the Research?

26

(2)

The Alterable Variables

28

(33)

Change the Content

29

(3)

Change How You Connect the Content

32

(1)

Change the Textbooks

33

(8)

Change How You Teach

41

(12)

Experiential Hands-on Learning: Does It Really Work?

44

(1)

Discovery Learning: How Best to Do It

45

(2)

The Use of Calculators: Boon or Boondoggle?

47

(1)

Practice: Nostalgia Math or Absolutely Essential?

47

(1)

Sage on the Stage or Guide on the Side?

48

(1)

Cooperative Learning: Accountability Is the Key to Success

49

(1)

Effective Teaching: The Key to Raising Math Achievement

50

(2)

What to Do About Ineffective Teachers

52

(1)

Change Your Expectations

53

(3)

Change How You Assess

56

(1)

What Do the Experts Recommend Be Changed?

57

(4)

The Essentials of Math Achievement

61

(27)

The School Essentials: Ways of Being

62

(4)

Maintain a Complete Focus on Student Achievement

62

(1)

Develop a Total Commitment to Meaningful Curriculum

63

(1)

Concentrate on Collaborative Lesson Planning and Peer Observation

64

(2)

The Learning Essentials: Ways of Doing

66

(22)

Early Numerical Abilities

66

(4)

The Concept of Numeration

70

(2)

Reading and Language Development

72

(2)

Arithmetic Facts and Algorithms

74

(2)

Mathematical Problem Solving

76

(3)

Algebra

79

(4)

High School Mathematics

83

(3)

Math Disabilities

86

(2)

The Practicalities of Raising Math Achievement

88

(12)

Principals Do Make a Difference: Instructional Leadership

90

(1)

You Can't Do It All on Your Own: Shared Decision Making

91

(1)

Look Before You Leap: Planning for Change

91

(4)

Setting Improvement Goals in Mathematics Education

92

(1)

Defining the Scope of the Improvement Plan

93

(1)

Selecting Tools and Practices for the Improvement Plan

93

(1)

Planning and Implementing the Improvement Plan

94

(1)

Get Mom and Dad on Your Side: The Importance of Parental Involvement

95

(2)

What Gets Measured Gets Done: Assessment and Accountability

97

(1)

Take Your Time: The Five-Year Plan

98

(2)

Thirty-Plus Things You Can Do In Your School to Raise Math Achievement

100

(13)

References

113

(11)

Index

124

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The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials