Miracle Math

Found this very old article from Education Next while reading the hullaballoo stories about "When is Cheryl's Birthday?" Whooaa! I've read that Singapore kids are awesome in Maths, and that Singapore Maths is awesome, but didn't think it was this intense. Do read; it's about Maths so it's just as dull or interesting depending on your inclination to the subject.


Miracle Math

A successful program from Singapore tests the limits of school reform in the suburbs

By BARRY GARELICK

It was another body blow to education. In December of 2004, media outlets across the country were abuzz with news of the just-released results of the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests. Once again despite highly publicized efforts to reform American math education (some might say because of the reform efforts) over the past two decades, the United States did little better than average (see Figure 1). Headquartered at the International Study Center at Boston College and taken by tens of thousands of students in more than three dozen countries, TIMSS has become a respected standard of international academic achievement. And in three consecutive TIMSS test rounds (in 1995, 1999, and 2003), 4th- and 8th-grade students in the former British trading colony of Singapore beat all contenders, including math powerhouses Japan and Taiwan. United States 8th graders did not even make the top ten in the 2003 round; they ranked 16th. Worse, scores for American students were, as one Department of Education study put it, “among the lowest of all industrialized countries.”

Read the whole article Miracle Math here.



Other articles:

1. Singapore Maths : Simple or Complex

2. Singapore Maths add up for US Teachers