Of course you are asking, where is your proof?
Well, I tested students in a K-12 School on basic math skills. I then ranked them according to shoe size, and I noticed that the larger the shoe, the better the score...on average of course.
If you buy this research, then I have to inform you it is bogus, however if you knew right away there were some critical flaws then I invite you to read on.
See there are more variables at play then simply shoe size. Age, years in school, gender, socio-economic status, language, etc are just some of the other variables. However critics of new math are using this same logic above to make claims that the new curriculum is making our students less smart.
See, PISA is a test administered every 4 years and since the last test marks have dropped by 6%. First, there is a problem with using PISA and next a lot has changed in our Country, schools, and communities then simply math instruction.
Should we ignore every other variable and pick one out of a hat and attribute this change to it? If so, then we can also prove that shoe size is linked to math scores. However we need to realize that in the last 4 years,
- Class sizes have increased
- Immigration population has increased
- English Language learners population has increased
- Education Funding has been reduced.
- Special education projects, such as AISI in Alberta, has gone to 0
- Our culture has changed
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