Jacob, B. (November 2001). Implementing Standards: The California Mathematics Textbook Debacle, Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 264-272.
- Math Textbooks
- “I examine California’s recent ‘standards-aligned” mathematics textbook adoption process, which provides a lens to scrutinize the impact of high-stakes policies on classroom practice”
- Background on California
- Standards by content areas
- Revised every 7 years
- K-8 only, High schools chose their own
- 1996-1997 Math Adoption
- Drafted by 4 voluntary Standards Commission
- Met for 1 year with researchers, mathematicians, and educators
- Published for review and comment
- State Board of Education rejected and created a new one
- 4 Stanford mathematic professors wrote it
- Removed examples and clarifications
- Done without input from the teachers
- Problem solving techniques substituted by extensive practice and direct instruction!!
- Dixon report
- Douglas Carnine of the University of Oregon
- Research review – selection biased towards board’s ideology – rote computation, not mathematical reasoning
- 1999 Adoption
- Story repeats itself – still rote computation + tell teachers exactly what to do
- 2001 Adoption
- Professor Hung-Hsi Wu from UC: could not explain his math reasoning “I’m puzzled as to why this is so difficult…”
- Scripted instruction – “Teacher stupidification movement” Richard Allington
Woodward, A., & Elliot, D. (1990). Textbooks: Consensus and Controversy. In Textbooks and Schooling In the United States, 89th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 146-161.
- Stakeholders are resistant to change in education
- Publishers have to adapt content to political ideologies
- Cost effective to have a national, neutral, and bland textbook as opposed to local books