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Name: VA Teachers Care on Oct 26, 2007Comments: We hope to see many names to support our cause!Flag
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Name: Shane Shaffer on Oct 27, 2007Comments: As a LCPS teacher, I have researched this program and its effectiveness on students. Its track record is dismal. I have had a great deal of success teaching students mathematics in LCPS for 8 years. I have the data to support the effectiveness of my teaching. This program does not have the data to prove that it is effective. For example, a school district in Rhode Island used TERC for 8 years. Its test scores dropped according to their data and a report in their local newspaper. This program will destroy the progress my school has made in math over these years.Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Oct 28, 2007Comments: My 9 yr old daughter was exposed to this kind of Math investigation method last yiear. The results were disastrous to the point that we had to hire a private tutor to help her learn her third gradle math. Please let's fight for the right thing to do and come back to the escencials as soon as possibe before it is too late for our kidsFlag
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Name: Anonymous on Oct 30, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 1, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Barbara L. Dodd on Nov 1, 2007Comments: My greatest concern is that this program is being trialed with some but not all children in our county. That puts the trial children at a disadvantage when meeting up with other children at the Middle school level. This type of program should begin as children enter school so as not to jeopardize the skills previously taught to them, and should only be taught as an adjunct to traditional math if beginning at the upper grade levels. This appears to be a program geared at analytical thinking, but one cannot assume that all children are capable of learning in that way.Flag
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Name: Kimberly Cox on Nov 1, 2007Comments: I am a teacher at Potomac Falls High School, and have 2 children at Leesburg Elementary. I am a high school math teacher, endorsed to teach math k-12. I know about this program, Math Investigations. I truly do not support the use of this haphazard program to teach math in the early grades. The students we have now at the high school level were taught when memorizing basic math facts wasn't the "in-thing" to do, and the current high school students are paying that price. My son has had excellent math instruction from teachers at Leesburg Elementary, and they have stressed basic math facts MUST be memorized, along with instruction on how to perform more creative and higher-order thinking problems. It is my understanding that teachers are having a very difficult time finding resources to cover the deficiencies that this Math Investigations has, specifically not enough rote memory practice. Most importantly, elementary teachers also were not given enough instruction before the start of the school on how to use this program effectively. I am very disappointed that Loudoun County adopted this program. I have been teaching high school for 17 years, and have not decided to switch to elementary next year, but if this program continues, I will not. I believe in 10 or more years we will see students that do not know their basic math facts, and the new program that will be implemented is one that will based on math facts. Break the cycle - train teachers, get teachers together, and hire more skilled math teachers - that can create a program that defines the fine line between rote memorization and applications.Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 1, 2007Comments: This will not accelerate below grade level students or sprectrum students. It may enhance curriculum for strong math students. It has been of benefit to remember that math is supposed to be experiential. But math is also supposed to be directed, spoken in its own language, and taught with standard algorithms in order to build on prior knowledge.Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 2, 2007Comments: We need to be teaching our children REAL math...WITHOUT calculators! I cannot believe this county would even CONSIDER this as a potential program!Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 2, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 2, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Deborah Kelly on Nov 3, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Suzanne Simpson on Nov 3, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 3, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 9, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Anonymous on Nov 21, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Michelle Reeves on Dec 20, 2007Comments:Flag
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Name: Judy Keiper on Jan 28, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Marcy Maher on Jan 28, 2008Comments: After noticing a big difference in my son's 4th grade math work/class structure this year. I started doing an enormous amount of research on elementary math curriculum. My research has not found many positive accolades about Math Investigations. I hope we can unite and have productive dialogue with our School Officials. District after district, state after state the same battles that are brewing here in Loudoun and in Prince William County over Math Investigation or TERC have already played out. Maybe with positive dialogue on both ends we won't have to get to the level of angst between officials and parents that other parts of the country have faced. We are one of the fastest growing Counties in America and we should be leading the way with the most current, statistically proven curriculum possible for our children.Flag
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Name: Michelle Disch on Jan 29, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Debbie Brown on Feb 1, 2008Comments: I totally agree with comments made, let's not jeopardize our childrens math futures!!Flag
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Name: Alison Smolsky on Feb 4, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Alison Smolsky on Feb 4, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Carole Mothersbaugh on Feb 19, 2008Comments: My 5th grader is having a terrible year in one of the county's Pilot Programs which is using TERC 100%. She is a former "A" student, now getting "C's". Instruction is minimal and vague, at best. The teacher constantly tells her she's "not thinking" when she is asked to solve problems without using the standard algorithms which she already knows. Her confidence has plummeted and it is beginning to affect her other coursework.Flag
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Name: Cindy Tonnesen on Feb 24, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Gretchen Weber on Feb 24, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: R. Moylan on Feb 24, 2008Comments: TERC Investigations has precipitated a strong dislike of math in my grand-daughter who was previously an A/B student in math. When a teacher tells a student her answers are incorrect because she arrived at the CORRET answers using traditional methods instead of TERC something is drastically wrong.Flag
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Name: Julie Hauer on Feb 27, 2008Comments: Stop jeopardizing our children's futures with TERC Math Investigations! I was at the LCPS School Board's Curriculum & Instruction subcommittee meeting where the Math Supervisor stated that there's no reason to teach long division any longer because no one uses it. Besides the fact that it's part of the 5th grade Virginia SOLs, almost every profession I can think of requires long division from nursing to carpentry to engineering. The program is touted as being especially good for non-English proficient students and special education students - yet, Math Investigations requires students (many of whom have trouble expressing themselves) to write complete sentences in English. I wish someone could explain to me what "Find a number in your house and draw a picture about where you found it" has to do with mathematics - this was an actual homework assignment from February 2008 that my 1st grader brought home. TERC Math Investigations doesn't teach math. Neither does our math supervisor.Flag
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Name: Allyson Daily on Jul 11, 2008Comments:Flag
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Name: Jim Cole on Sep 23, 2008Comments: What has happened to common sense I am a math teacher who is upset over the idea that Math Investigations could actually be used in our schools.Flag
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Name: Peter Schaefer on Sep 30, 2008Comments:Flag
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