Re: [MATHEDCC] Why Johnny can't read.
Jay Malmstrom (malmstrm@QNS.COM)
Tue, 26 Oct 1999 08:30:09 -0500
Actually, Johnny can do math - just not school math. There have been several
studies done recently about the disconnect between math as it is taught in
school and math as people do it day to day (Keith Devlin has a column on the MAA
website about this.) Think, when was the last time you computed a 15% tip by
multiplying the bill by .15 as you had been taught in school. Yes there are
some incredible examples of innumeracy out there and we all have example of
students who can't add 2 and 2 and get 4, but the main danger is that the
standardized tests that most students take don't really reflect how most of them
use math. We are often teaching and testing the wrong math to the wrong
students.
Jay Malmstrom
Oklahoma City Community College
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