Focus on improving math education

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/01/2024 (612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development announced the latest round of its Programme for International Student Assessment results on Dec. 5. PISA is an international test taken by 15-year-olds.

Math scores declined in all provinces between 2003 and 2022. The pandemic likely impacted the most recent scores, but the downward trend started years before that, so other factors must be at play.

Manitobans should be concerned that the percentage of Manitoba students performing below level 2, which corresponds roughly to innumeracy, doubled since 2003. The percentage of highest-performing students halved. More students are struggling in math, and fewer are excelling.

As a math professor, I have witnessed deficiencies in math skills among incoming university students first-hand. My colleagues in STEM and other quantitative fields share these concerns. Meanwhile, math is more important for our economy than ever. It underpins careers in technology, artificial intelligence, engineering, and data science, to name a few. Further, a basic level of numeracy is necessary to be a well-functioning citizen.

Following the release of the results, I wrote a C.D. Howe Intelligence Memo to all Canadian ministers of education, including Manitoba’s Nello Altomare. I made recommendations for improving math achievement, which include aligning math instruction with the science of learning, transparency and accountability to parents and the public, and cellphone bans in schools.

Math is cumulative. If students receive inadequate instruction, they can easily fall behind. Much like getting good at a sport or musical instrument, math requires much practice at every step.

Misguided ideas about how students learn sometimes take hold in education. In reading, this manifested as a de-emphasis on phonics, resulting in struggling readers. American media exposed the problem, which has recently led to a corrective shift. Educators and policymakers in many states and provinces are now insisting that reading instruction should be in line with the science of learning, which includes systematic phonics instruction.

Math has not received the same attention despite similar misguided ideas surrounding math instruction. Students must develop a firm foundation through a lot of practice before they can grapple with more complex math. Automaticity with math facts, fluency with fraction arithmetic, and algebraic skills lead to better understanding and prepares students for problem solving.

Research in cognitive science consistently shows that explicit instruction, where students are explicitly taught techniques and procedures, followed by practice and feedback, is the most effective way to teach math, especially for struggling students. Despite these research-based methods being recommended by reputable agencies such as the Institute for Educational Sciences, ineffective math programs are often adopted in Canadian schools.

The ministry of education and school divisions should ensure that math instruction programs and advice given to teachers are in line with the science of learning.

Public funds should not be spent on math programs that fail to recognize the importance of explicit instruction and sufficient practice. Professional development providers who are unable to provide solid evidence that their programs improve math achievement should be avoided.

Provincial assessments help hold decision-makers accountable and identify flaws in the system. Manitoba’s provincial tests were paused due to the pandemic. It is time to get back on track and embrace provincial testing as one tool for ensuring a healthy education system.

Parents are important educational partners and should be provided with clear reports on how their children are performing in math so they can advocate. Testing student progress regularly and reporting results to parents helps ensure that students do not fall behind. This is imperative, given the cumulative nature of math.

Administrators who disparage tests and exams ultimately hurt students, leave parents in the dark, and fail to prepare students for post-secondary education and the workforce. Manitoba school divisions that have adopted wrong-headed ideas, like avoiding tests or cancelling final exams in high school, should reverse course.

Research on the impact of cellphones on young people shows they are addictive, detrimental to mental health, and hinder learning. On PISA 2022, 80 per cent of Canadian students reported being distracted by digital devices in some math classes and more than 40 per cent in almost all math classes.

Students on phones in class harm both their own learning and that of their classmates. On average, students who reported device distractions from classmates scored 15 points lower in math. That represents around three-quarters of a year’s worth of education, according to the OECD.

Several countries, such as the Netherlands, have implemented cellphone bans in schools. Quebec recently implemented school cellphone bans provincewide and Manitoba’s Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine announced a phone ban earlier this year. Cellphone bans should be implemented in all Manitoba schools.

Manitoba students deserve a high-quality math education. I urge our provincial government to prioritize mathematics. Our economy depends on it and families are counting on it.

Anna Stokke is a professor of mathematics at the University of Winnipeg. Her C.D. Howe Intelligence Memo can be found at https://www.cdhowe.org/intelligence-memos/anna-stokke-reversing-decline-canadian-math-scores