Tutoring math (and some English) has been my avocation for four decades. Our two older children graduated from Ferndale High School, and my experience with their education (and that of students I tutored) is what interested me in school board in the first place. Our chronic underperformance on the mathematics portion of the state test was a strong motivator for me to run. I believe our high school and middle school math teachers are extremely qualified and our students can reach higher. I have many observations and ideas about math education, and I will revisit this page to include those thoughts.
Broadly defined, numeracy is: the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with quantitative and spatial information to make informed decisions in all aspects of daily living. A numerate individual has the confidence and awareness to know when and how to apply quantitative and spatial understandings at home, at school, at work or in the community (attribution: The Alberta Ministry of Education ).
Schools’ obligation is to impart mathematics skills so that students can reason and function in their daily lives. In 2022, to better serve students, Ferndale School District adopted the i-Ready curriculum for K-8 mathematics. A feature of this curriculum is that teachers at every grade level have access to the content for all grades. What that means is that if a child advances to a subsequent grade without fully mastering a concept, the teacher can more easily backfill those holes in understanding. Additionally, the online content adapts to each individual student's needs. This ability to differentiate instruction allows students to accelerate their learning. Another advantage of i-Ready is the regular monitoring of student progress throughout the school year. As with English, the board will be apprised of this information.
I recall a conversation, years ago, with a math teacher in which I learned that there wasn’t much communication between elementary, middle school, and high school teachers. That is common, apparently, and not just in our district! The adoption of i-Ready for K-8 helps to bridge this communication gap. I believe there are additional measures that could be taken to assist in the transition between primary and secondary grades.
I believe team teaching is advantageous for leveraging the talents of educators and delivering quality instruction to all students. I know some of this is happening already in our schools. From what I have researched, professional development in elementary math education focuses more on pedagogy than on teacher mastery of subject matter, and I believe the
emphasis should be reversed. To be nimble and flexible at explaining concepts requires thorough understanding of relevant principles.
Finally, I am appreciative of the district’s requirement that students internalize basic arithmetic facts. This is analogous to
the role of phonics in reading. At one point in our history (when my oldest kids were in school) arithmetic facts were viewed
as “drill and kill”, lesser goals in the hierarchy of knowledge. That attitude was disastrous and has fortunately been rejected!
We have taken steps to improve performance in math and have seen some very small gains in SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment) scores in 2023-24 and 2024-25. I am hopeful that this trend will continue and gain strength.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment is the measuring tool that is most familiar to Washington parents. At the end of last
school year how did we measure up?
