Common Core Math Frustrations

[Getslow]

"Dang boss, I'm sorry that building I designed collapsed. Don't know HOW I thought 1 pound per square foot floor rating would be ok. But hey, you should have seen the extremely complicated process I went through to get that calculation, You would have been proud"!

 

I think you're missing the point here...

 

Of course the right answers matter. Anyone who tells you otherwise should be hit with a brick. This is about the method by which one arrives at those answers and the method for learning those functions. It's not just about knowing that these functions exist; it's about knowing why they work the way they do.

[rockmom]

I rember in Algebra II being given an extra credit problem. I arrived at the right answer, but the path to that answer was not the path the Mrs. Maze took. And granted, her solution was about a page in lenght, where mine was three. But, dang it...I muddled through it and somehow got the right answer! It was my knowledge of the conceptual applications that kept me on track through those 3 pages, though, not the basics.

[BigVMan23]

I think you're missing the point here...

 

Of course the right answers matter. Anyone who tells you otherwise should be hit with a brick. This is about the method by which one arrives at those answers and the method for learning those functions. It's not just about knowing that these functions exist; it's about knowing why they work the way they do.

 

But when you get credit for "the process" of reaching an incorrect answer...that to me is what I have problems with. Of course I'm being a little sarcastic in my posts above...but a wrong answer is a wrong answer. Sorry, do it again.

[Bengal Maniac]

But when you get credit for "the process" of reaching an incorrect answer...that to me is what I have problems with. Of course I'm being a little sarcastic in my posts above...but a wrong answer is a wrong answer. Sorry, do it again.

 

Kids are not scored on % grades but by a 4 point rubric on portions of the Common Core. On multiple choice, which is low level type of responding, you are either right or wrong. 1 being very basic to 4 being total understanding and application. To get a 3 or 4 a student would have to get the correct answer. A student could possibly get a 1 or 2 with an incorrect answer.

 

This is a mindset shift in understanding how students are assessed and demonstrate what they can know or do. The ACT/SAT/AP have or are all transitioned/ing to this type of scoring. No longer is just Multiple Choice/True-False the type of assessments students have to take and in public schools are being held accountable.

[rjs4470]

Does the ACT want you to think real hard or get the answer correct? Does Georgia Tech want you to think real hard or get the answer correct? Do the Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace engineering firms want you to think real hard or get the answer correct?

 

 

Of course getting the correct answer is important. But if this new method helps you understand the concepts that are required to solve the more difficult problems, then it should be part of the curriculum. The easiest way isn't always the best way, whether it's carpentry or subtraction.

[hoops5]

Of course getting the correct answer is important. But if this new method helps you understand the concepts that are required to solve the more difficult problems, then it should be part of the curriculum. The easiest way isn't always the best way, whether it's carpentry or subtraction.

 

At first I was frustrated and it was mindboggling. But now, as my son's math work is getting more advanced and more complicated, I see him attacking the problem with the steps that were drilled with the very easy problems.

[BigVMan23]

I will be the first to say...although I have been making fun of it and some of the concepts, I don't know much about common core, other than the fact that it has a LOT of opponents who are against it from what I am hearing. I am gonna do a little research and find out a little more.

[DragonFire]

Latina est gaudium. In universitas magister mei dicit: si hoc legere scis nimium eruditione habes. Yeah' date=' I still don't understand what's happening in common core math standards.[/quote']

 

......

 

I stand corrected, I still understand common core more than Latin. But it's CLOSE.

[Bengal Maniac]

I will be the first to say...although I have been making fun of it and some of the concepts, I don't know much about common core, other than the fact that it has a LOT of opponents who are against it from what I am hearing. I am gonna do a little research and find out a little more.

 

It is as most things, most people really don't understand a lot of things deeply unless you have to. Those opposed believe it is an Obama thing and it is not, although he does support it. It truly was bi-partisan and pushed by leading educators and big business and the Chamber.

 

It is a truly difficult initiative to implement because of the expense in many facets such as higher cost to assess students because scoring must be done by people at this point, which many times leads to some subjectivity, although not near as much as some would think. Accountability is also a huge issue with it, because there are those that want to tie charters with it and those that don't due to the success or failure of schools. You know that will cause a divide.

 

Bottom line, is it really is a great initiative, but once politics gets involved, they screw it up. Those that are opposed are not in the majority, just very loud and influential.

 

You will hear a lot of states delaying or getting rid of it, when in reality they kept the vast majority of the standards and just changed the name to e.g. Arizona College and Career Standards, really the exact same standards.

[Clyde]

My problem with math education at the lower levels (vs advanced mathematics) is the focus on memorization. Yes, you need to know that 6 x 9 = 54 but is AS important overall to understand why and understand relationships between numbers.

 

It's amazing to me how many people can tell me that 6 x 9 = 54 but can't tell me that 60% of 90 = 54 or that 90% of 6 = 5.4 which I can also derive by taking 10% of 6 and then subtracting that from 6 or......... .

 

Heck, don't even then try to ask someone what 15% of something is.

 

In reality knowing how to multiply and divide isn't as important as it used to be. Your job , in most instances, will provide you with the answer. You just need to know how to come up with the variables to plug in.

[True blue (and gold)]

All those "you'll need this in the real world" lines I got from teachers were lies.

 

Funny, my former students tell me just the opposite. I just had a student that graduated last year come in this week, on a break from the Navy. He was telling me how much of what I taught him in chemistry and physics had really helped in what he was doing.

[rockmom]

My problem with math education at the lower levels (vs advanced mathematics) is the focus on memorization. Yes, you need to know that 6 x 9 = 54 but is AS important overall to understand why and understand relationships between numbers.

 

It's amazing to me how many people can tell me that 6 x 9 = 54 but can't tell me that 60% of 90 = 54 or that 90% of 6 = 5.4 which I can also derive by taking 10% of 6 and then subtracting that from 6 or......... .

 

Heck, don't even then try to ask someone what 15% of something is.

 

In reality knowing how to multiply and divide isn't as important as it used to be. Your job , in most instances, will provide you with the answer. You just need to know how to come up with the variables to plug in.

 

 

I won't name names, but apparently I have some sort of "gift". Because when I'm in a restaurant and I need to tip, I take the bill, multiply it in my head by 10%, divide that by 2, then add the two results to come up with the 15%. Well, ususally I just round up to the nearest whole dollar, multiply by 10% and then double that....but...anyway...apparently my ability to do that makes some (a lot) of people think I'm really smart. And I always thought I was a little slow because I couldn't calculate 15% directly instead of breaking it down into the way I described.

[BigVMan23]

I won't name names, but apparently I have some sort of "gift". Because when I'm in a restaurant and I need to tip, I take the bill, multiply it in my head by 10%, divide that by 2, then add the two results to come up with the 15%. Well, ususally I just round up to the nearest whole dollar, multiply by 10% and then double that....but...anyway...apparently my ability to do that makes some (a lot) of people think I'm really smart. And I always thought I was a little slow because I couldn't calculate 15% directly instead of breaking it down into the way I described.

 

Exactly the way I do it.

[rjs4470]

I won't name names, but apparently I have some sort of "gift". Because when I'm in a restaurant and I need to tip, I take the bill, multiply it in my head by 10%, divide that by 2, then add the two results to come up with the 15%. Well, ususally I just round up to the nearest whole dollar, multiply by 10% and then double that....but...anyway...apparently my ability to do that makes some (a lot) of people think I'm really smart. And I always thought I was a little slow because I couldn't calculate 15% directly instead of breaking it down into the way I described.

 

I keep it simple, I just tip 20%;-). When I used to work in retail, my ability to figure out quickly how much 20% (or 25%, 30%, whatever) would sometimes shock people, like it was amazing I could do it without a calculator. I would even occasionally get asked "How much is 50%" off this item??

[rockmom]

I keep it simple, I just tip 20%;-). When I used to work in retail, my ability to figure out quickly how much 20% (or 25%, 30%, whatever) would sometimes shock people, like it was amazing I could do it without a calculator. I would even occasionally get asked "How much is 50%" off this item??

 

Why do people think this is shocking? I mean, dang! It's not that hard!