The California Mathematics Standards are cynical, mind-numbing, and shallow. Instead of balancing problem solving, concept development, and skill acquisition, the standards are full of obsolete mathematics and devoid of problem solving. Students offering only an algorithm when asked for meaning have style without substance. Blind memorization is…

United States has produced a generation of students who engage in problem solving without regard for common sense or the text of the problem. Three factors bear the blame: societal beliefs about mathematics, the typical math curriculum, and deficiencies in teacher preparation. New conceptions about learning should help spawn curriculum,…

America 2000 presents an educational reform agenda that neglects the arts. Prevailing misconceptions of the arts are based on a massive misunderstanding of their role in human development and education. The arts contribute significantly by celebrating the value of multiple perspectives and nuances in problem solving, relating form to content, and…

Favored explanations for the achievement gap between black and white students reflect experts' positions on the ideological spectrum, while overlooking fundamental problems with the educational delivery system. The situation of black students is not hopeless, thanks to new research that abandons whites' academic performance as the norm and…

A videotape series produced by the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Collection demonstrates college and secondary students' misconceptions about everyday phenomena and advocates teaching for understanding. Third International Science and Mathematic Study data show American and German teachers' interest in procedures and algorithms, compared with…