EFFORTS TO TRY TO STOP THE NCTM STANDARDS MOVEMENT:

Learned scholars from all over America have tried for years (19 at least) to stop the government's dumbing down of mathematics in America's public and private schools. 

It's hard to beat the Federal government!

August 26, 1997

President Clinton

The White House

Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

We applaud your goal of introducing a national grade 8 mathematics exam as a way to stimulate improvement in mathematics education.

In developing such a national mathematics test, it is critical to get the details correct lest the goals be lost. We are seriously concerned that the development of the national mathematics test is flawed and in need of correction. Our concerns are in three areas: The underlying assumptions about what is important in mathematics; the composition of the committee which is writing the test; and the nature of the test itself.

It is clear that the authors of the exam are working under the assumption that there is, or will be, a national consensus that the 1989 Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) are the appropriate guide for mathematics education in the United States. This is not true. Troublesome issues about the NCTM model are now being raised by committees of the Mathematical Association of America and of other mathematics professional associations. We and many others across the country feel strongly that use of the 1989 NCTM Standards as a guiding document is a serious error which will undermine the credibility and usefulness of the national test.

The committee which is drafting the exam specifications is biased. First, nearly all of its members are strong advocates of the NCTM Standards and of programs that repute to be aligned with the NCTM Standards. There is not a balance of different viewpoints regarding mathematics education. Second, members of the committee have significant conflicts of interest as they are actively involved in the writing or promotion of particular mathematics curricula. Even the slightest suspicion that the authors would bias the test toward material covered in their programs, or that their authorship of the test would be used to sell their programs or to help them get grants, undermines the credibility of the exam. Conflict of interest protections should be in place for those writing a document as important as the national math test.

The exam itself, at least as represented in the examination plan, is not at all adequate. To be truly informative, the exam should be comprehensive and cover those topics that are important to the future of America. At the top end, it must be sure to meet your call for Algebra for all 8th graders. Thus, the national exam must extend from basic numerical operations (without calculators) through all of the content of a rigorous first year algebra program. The exam fails at both extremes. There is no plan to test basic computational skills under the assumption that all students will know these things. Unfortunately, this is not true, as anyone who deals regularly with 8th graders can tell you. If we do not test basic skills we will hide from ourselves the extent and range of our weaknesses at the lowest levels. At the other end, in spite of calling 25% of the test "Algebra," the content addressed is not algebra at all - - it is not even pre-algebra. By ignoring the demanding content of algebra, the design will fail to measure success at the level of our international competition and will fail to promote greater achievement as intended.

The emerging plan is therefore totally inconsistent with the very reasons for having a national mathematics exam, and is contrary to the needs of our country. As you have committed yourself and the country to the goal of a valuable, meaningful and useful examination of mathematical competence, it falls to you to correct the errors that are occurring in the development of this exam.

Sincerely,

Institutional affiliations for identification only

MATHEMATICIANS

Henry Alder

Former President of the Mathematical Association of America

Former member of the California State Board of Education

Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Davis

current member of the California Mathematics Framework Committee

Frank B. Allen,

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics,

Elmhurst College

President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics `62-`64

George E. Andrews

Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics

Penn State University

Wayne Bishop, Ph. D.

Professor of Mathematics

California State University, Los Angeles

Gunnar Carlsson

Chairman, Department of Mathematics

Stanford University

Ralph Cohen

Professor of Mathematics

Stanford University

Anne Cook

Adjunct Professor of Mathematics

(and VERY concerned parent!)

Glen Oaks Community College

D. W. Crowe

Prof. Of Mathematics (emeritus)

Dept. of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mirna Dzamonja

visiting Assistant Profesor

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Gary M. Epstein

Professor of Mathematics,

California Polytechnic State University

San Luis Obispo, CA

Dr. David J. Foulis

Professor of Mathematics and Statistics

University of Massachusetts

Amherst, MA 01003, USA

Ted Giebutowski

Professor of Mathematics

Plynouth State College

Plymout, NH

Leslie Hogben

Associate Professor of Mathematics

Iowa State University

I. Martin Isaacs

Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin

Madison WI 53706

Dikran Karagueuzian

Van Vleck Assistant Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Jim Kuelbs

Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Donald Kiel

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science,

California State University, Los Angeles

David Klein

Professor of Mathematics

California State University, Northridge

Norman Levitt

Professor of Mathematics

Rutgers University

New Brunswick, NJ.

Marc H. Melman

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

R. James Milgram

Professor of Mathematics

Stanford University

Motohico Mulase

Professor of Mathematics

University of California, Davis

J. Marshall Osborn

Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin

Madison, WI

Donald S. Passman

Richard Brauer Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Yong-Geun Oh

Associate Professor

University of Wisconsin-Madsion

Amos Ron

Associate Professor

Mathematics and Computer Sciences,

University of Wisconsin-Madison

F. A. (Jack) Roach

Retired University Professor

Senior Applied Mathematician

Jerry Rosen

Professor of Mathematics

California State University, Northridge

Vadim Shapiro, Assistant Professor

Mechanical Engineering and Computer Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Stephen G. Simpson

Department of Mathematics

Pennsylvania State University

Bob Stein

Professor of Mathematics

California State University, San Bernardino

School Board Member,

Rim of the World USD

Prof. James D. Stein Jr.

Department of Mathematics

California State University, Long Beach

Sherman Stein

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics,

University of California, Davis

author of Strength in Numbers

Howard Swann

Prof., Math and Computer Science

San Jose State University

Abigail Thompson

Associate Professor of Mathematics

University of California, Davis

Andre Toom

University of Sao Paulo

Hung-Hsi Wu

Berkeley, CA

OTHER ACADEMICS

E.D. Hirsch, Jr.

Professor of English

University of Virginia

and the Core Knowledge Foundation

Author of The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them

Doug Carnine

Professor

University of Oregon

Herbert (Herb) J. Walberg

University of Illinois at Chicago

College of Education

Chicago, IL

Jeff Haydu

University of California, San Diego

Marianne Jennings

Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies

College of Business,

Arizona State University

parent of four children

Dr. Martha Schwartz

University of Southern California

member of the California Mathematics Framework Committee

Co-founder of Mathematically Correct

J. E. Stone, Ed.D.

Professor

College of Education

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, TN 37614

David Mulroy

Associate Professor, Classics

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Mary Damer

instructor in Special Education department

Northern Illinois University,

DeKalb, Il

Michael McKeown

Associate Professor

Molecular Biology and Virology Laboratory

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

San Diego, CA

Co-founder Mathematically Correct

Harry Klemfuss, Ph.D.

Animal Subjects Program-0614

University of California, San Diego

Dr. Scott Thomson, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine

Division of Nephrology

University of California, San Diego

Robert Parmer, MD

Department of Medicine

School of Medicine

University of California, San Diego

John Videen, M.D.

Assistant Adjuct Professor of Medicine

University of California, San Diego

Parent of a High School Freshman

Judy Hulse, PhD

David R. Sigurdson, Ph.D.

Professor of Earth Sciences

Calif. State University Dominguez Hills

Neil W. Tennant

Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Cognitive Science

The Ohio State University

(Gold Medallist in the 1966 National Mathematics Olympiad of the South

African Academy of Arts and Sciences; on National Honor Roll of the

1968 AMA Olympiad; logician and philosopher of mathematics by profession)

Fred C. Zacharias

Professor of Law

USD

Howard Cohen, M.D.

Director of Clinical Services

Assoc. Professor of Medicine

Assoc. Chief of the Division of Cardiology

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Jamie Clopton

Dept of Behavioral Sciences

Palomar College

Cofounder, Mathematically Correct

Sally Peterson

Asst. Faculty Associate

Computer Science Dept.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Leslie Evans Bush

Associate Faculty

Phoenix College

Phoenix, AZ

Robert Engler, M.D.

Professor of Medicine,

Univesity of California, San Diego

Parent of 2 teenagers.

TEACHERS AND OTHER EDUCATORS

Jaime Escalante

Calculus Teacher featured in Stand and Deliver

Johnson High School

Sacramento, CA

Richard Schwartz

Chemistry Teacher

Torrance High School

Torrance, CA

American Chemical Society Western Region Teacher of the Year, 1995

Lawrence S. Braden

Mathematics Teacher

St. Paul's School

Concord, NH

Presidential Awardee, Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, 1987

William F. Clair

Addams HIgh School

Chairperson of 7 continuation high schools

Mentor teacher

1989 teacher of the year (Madson Junior High School)

Los Angeles Unified School District

Los Angele, CA

Dan Hart

Math Teacher

San Fernando High School

Los Angeles Unified School District

Los Angeles, CA

Dennis Stanton

Mathematics Department Chairman

Soquel High School

Santa Cruz City Schools

Santa Cruz, CA

Harvey Solomon

Mathematics Teacher

Soquel High School

Santa Cruz City Schools

Santa Cruz, CA

James E. Husband

Mathematics supervisor

Oil City Area Schools

Oil City, PA 16301

Betty Raskoff Kazmin, JD

Veteran algebra teacher

Ohio

Kim Mackey,

Math Teacher,

Valdez, Alaska

Carol Gambill

Mathematics Teacher

Sewickley Academy

Sewickley, PA

Bill Kurdziel

Math Educator

Chico, CA

Erica Heikoff McKeown

Mathematics Teacher

Founder, EHM Mathematics

Parent

San Diego, CA

Jim Grittner

Mathematics Instructor

Canaan Memorial High School

Canaan, VT 05903

Barbara Pickel Inscho

M.S., Univ of TN in Math Ed

Tandy Technology Scholar, 1994

Past President, East TN Ed. Ass'n

William J. Braund

8310 N John St

Clifford In 47226

Donald Barrett

Detroit Public High School Mathematics Teacher

Gareth G. Bouwman

Math Teacher

Eatonville High School

Eatonville, WA 98328

Gary McMurrin

Valencia H.S.

Santa Clarita, CA

Jane Dornbusch

high school mathematics teacher

Mississippi

Kirt Bell

(Teacher of secondary math and composite sciences)

Gloria I. Prada

Algebra Teacher

Hayward Unified School District

Dr. William Neis

Mathematics teacher

San Diego, CA

Sandy Carrott

Teacher & parent

James R. Colbert

Math Department Chairman

8th Grade Mathematics Teacher

Lakeside, CA

Alan D. Humble

teacher

Susan P. Urwin

8th Grade Math teacher

Bonnie Blevins

Pre-School Teacher

Bill Stanard

teacher & parent

Vermont

Tom Smart

mathematics teacher

Sewickley Academy

Marcella Dawson

Teacher and Parent

Texas

W.S. Whited

Math Teacher

Brenda Kozak

Eyer Jr. High Mathcounts coach

Pennsylvania

Rodney Larash

Eyer Jr. High Mathcounts coach

Pennsylvania

Carol Simmons

Math Teacher, 8th grade

Alice Furry

Assistant Superintendent

Sacramento County Office of Education

Sacramento, CA

Bernadine Mullen

Fifth Grade Teacher

Sacramento, CA

Cuc Phan

Bilingual Teacher's Aide

Elk Grove Unified School District

Sacramento, CA

Vicki Bagatti

Tutor

Carmichael, CA

Robert Hagopian

Middle School Teacher

Santa Cruz, CA

Annette Hagopian

Teacher's Aide

Santa Cruz, CA

Pat Johnson

Retired Teacher

Volunteer, Rolling Readers

Sacramento, CA

Debra Igleburger

Middle School Teacher

Goethe Middle School

Sacramento, CA

Tulvio Durand

retired engineer and math teacher

San Diego, CA

Marsha Williams

Teacher, 6th Grade

Stockton Unified School District

SCHOOL BOARD/BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEMBERS

Abigail Thernstrom

Member, State Board of Education

Massachusetts

Bill Carlson, Trustee

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District

Yucaipa, CA

Bill Bonville

Three Rivers School District Board of Directors

6030 Tunnel Loop Rd.

Grants Pass, OR 97526

Christine Cohen

Board of Trustees

Pressley Ridge Schools

Pittsburgh, PA

Scott Kaseburg

Renton School Board President

Renton, WA

Timothy Donahue

Board Member

Pleasant Valley School District

Camarillo, CA

Tom Griffin

Lawyer

School Board Member

Sacramento City Unified School District

Sacramento, CA

Dr. Steven A. Lapp

Chairman of the Technology Committee at Sewickley Academy

Trustee of Sewickley Academy

Parent of two children at Sewickley Academy and one at Georgetown University

President of Design Sciences, Inc. - a firm specializing in quantitative risk and reliability assessment

PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Bruce Crawford

Business Operations Manager

Fountain Valley, CA

Robert Y. Cheung, O.D.

Optometrist

Atascadero, CA

Klara K. Cheung

Office Administrator

Atascadero, CA

Larry Gipson

Design Engineer

Co-founder Mathematically Correct

Escondido, CA

(Mrs.) Leigh Hughes

Small Business Owner & Parent

San Diego, CA

James E. Hughes

Small Business Owner & Parent

San Diego, CA

Charles L. Beavers, AIA

Architect, Vice President

Interactive Resources

Peatluma, CA

Leslie Schwarze

Novato, CA

Charles Schwarze

Novato, CA

Ruth M. Hart

Software Engineer & Parent

Dianne R. Cassidy

Parent & Teacher

BS Art Education, University of Oregon

MAT Education, Lewis & Clark College

Co-Founder, Advocates for Curriculum

Excellence, Lake Oswego, OR

Gayle Cloud

Parent

President , Citizens United for Education

Riverside, CA

Charles J. Masenas

Engineer and Parent

Leah Vukmir

President, Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools (PRESS)

Milwaukee, WI

http://www.execpc.com/~presswis/wis

Mike Gambill

Corporate Director

Human Resources

ALCOA

Pittsburg, PA

James Hollis Clayton, Jr.

Retired Executive

Sara Lee

Knoxville TN

Marion Beckham Clayton

Retired Anesthetist

Knoxville TN

Marion C. Calloway

President

MCC Window Coverings Inc.

West Hills, CA

Phillip Calloway

Aerospace Management

Hughes Aircraft

West Hills, CA

Steve Goss (Mechanical Engineer)

Arizona Parents for Traditional Education

http://www.theriver.com/Public/tucson_parents_edu_forum/

Lauren Scheffers, M.Ed., M.B.A,

parent of "formerly gifted/now disabled" math student

Dr. Paul and Jodi Hoffman

National Directors

R.A.M.P.-Restore America's Moral Pride

VOC-Victimization of Children

Jeanne Donovan, Coordinator

Education Consumers Association of Fort Worth & Crowley

http://geowww.geo.tcu.edu/eca

Kurt Wilson

Brea, CA

Democrat, parent, REALTOR

Jackie Hyman

Brea, CA

Republican, Novelist, media reporter

Steve Baldwin

Member

California State Assembly

Janice Wolf Boomstein

Parent of two

MS in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University

BS in Computer Science, University of Michigan

Micheline Fountain Hutson

Colleen M. Hinman

Barbara Shafer, founder A.P.P.L.E.

(Active Participation Promotes Libertyville Education)

Fay Anne Wong

Rowland Heights, CA

Franklin Yang

Rowland Heights, CA

Ze'ev Wurman

Parent, Palo Alto, Calif.

Director of Software, DynaChip Corporation

Member, 1997 California Mathematics Framework Committee

Steering Committee, Honest Open Logical Debate (HOLD) on math reform

Robert L. Mandell D.M.D., M.M.Sc.

Diplomate American Board of Periodontology

member Concerned Parents of Reading, MA

Paulette Simpson

Juneau, Alaska

Barbara Tennison

Oregon

Cindy Duckett

President, Project Educate

Wichita, KS

Cheryl Nelson

Parent, Petaluma, CA

Helen Fallon

Parent

Venice California

Holly Tilson

Parent

Los Angeles, CA

William L. Mulert

Electrical Engineer & Parent

Co-Founder of Advocates for Curriculum Excellence

Robert S. Tennison

Oregon

Darcy Waris

Japanese Language Teacher

Parent, Department of Defense Dependent Schools

Okinawa, Japan

GySgt Mark S. Meadows

U.S. Marine Corps

Okinawa, Japan

Cynthia L. Meadows

Parent, Department of Defense Dependent Schools

Okinawa, Japan

Denise M. McArthur

Sign Language Interpreter

Parent, Department of Defense Dependent Schools

Okinawa, Japan

Major Robert C. McArthur

United States Marine Corps

Alumnus, U. S. Naval Academy

Alumnus, U.S. Naval Post Graduate School

Captain Augusto G. Cata

United States Marine Corps

Alumnus, U.S. Naval Academy

Carmen Cata

Parent, Department of Defense Dependent Schools

Okinawa, Japan

Madalyn McDaniel

parent

Atascadero Unified School District, CA

Jerry McDaniel

parent

Atascadero Unified School District, CA

Terri Sherwin

parent

Atascadero Unified School District, CA

Charles Prussak, Ph.D.

President

Molecular Medicine

Douglas E. Appelt

Senior Computer Scientist

SRI International

Micheline Hutson

Houston, Texas

Margaret McMillan

Brea, CA

Democrat, mother, office manger

Jerold Mathews

Ames, IA

Donna Duffau

Homeschooling Parent

Paul Duffau

Homeschooling Parent

Greg Spolar

Mathematics Standards Committee

Escondido Union School District

Michael D. Hays

Pastor and Parent

Paul Clopton

Member, 1997 California Mathematics Framework Committee

Member, San Diego Mathematics Standards Committee

Cofounder, Mathematically Correct

Richard C. Webb, Registered Professional Engineer

Webb Laboratories

Hartland, WI

Mitz Lee

President

Alliance for Quality Education

Jeff Lee

Vice President and

Executive Director

Alliance for Quality Education

Priscilla Cummings

Chris Patterson

San Antonio, Texas

Mary R. Davy

Carmichael, CA

Rose Gaston

Parent

Registered Nurse

Peggy Powell

Parent

Registered Nurse

Karen Crowther

President, Redwood Games, Inc.

MS Mechanical Engineering, University of California

Melanie Shenker

parent

Lexington, MA

Greg Blevins

Parent

Jim & Ruth Dearman

Parent

Steven H. Johnson

Parent

Robert Hayes

Parent, Computer Network Consultant

Blamer of Math for all of life's successes

John F.Polites

Senior Telecommunications Tech

TRW - Avionics San Diego

Jefferson M. DeMarco (Attorney at Law)

Parent

Riverside, CA

Abe Shenker

parent

Lexington, MA

Janis D. Smith

Education Chairman

Alta Vista PTA

Redondo Beach, CA

Richard S. Smith

Business & Finance Manager

TRW

Redondo Beach, CA

Dana Harris

Parent

Pittsburg, PA

Franco Harris

Parent

Pittsburg, PA

Lorrie Alves

La Canada Math Advisory Group

Candidate for the La Canada School Board

La Canada, CA

Fred Tempereau

parent

San Diego, CA

Therese Tempereau

parent

San Diego, CA

Ray Merewether

Parent

La Jolla CA

Elaine E. Flynn

Parent

Poway, CA

Donald G. Paige, MD

Parent

San Diego, CA

Nancy S. Paige, RN

Parent

San Diego, CA

Michael Arthur Gambill, Jr., Esq.

Former "Teach for America" Teacher

Marvi Hagopian

Parent

Sacramento, CA

Gregory L. Comegys

High School Math Evaluation Committee member

Ms. Alice S. Whalley

Parent

Vista, CA

Mat A. Toenniessen M.A.

Robert J. Sweeney, BS, MS

Martin School Council Parent Representative

Martin School

Seekonk, MA

Janet Feldman

Parent

Pennsylvania

Kenneth Feldman

Parent

Pennsylvania

Quentin Schmierer

Senior Design Engineer at IBM AS/400 Division

Rochester, MN

Jay Case

PTA President

Staff Services Management Auditor

Sacramento, CA

Colleen Corry

Parent

Eugene, Oregon

Janet Case

Parent

Sacramento, CA

David Dye

Parent

Washington, DC

Linda Boutin, Director

Parent Advocates for Children's Education

Davis, CA

Jonathan Hagopian

Molecular Biologist/Lab Technician

Santa Barbara, CA

Carol Simmons

Leon Hagopian

Real Estate Broker

Sacramento, CA

Mike Perez

Parent

Sacramento, CA

Sarah Walls

Co-founder, Scottsdale Parents for Academic Choice

STUDENTS

Matt Berner

9th grade student

former member of the Pennsylvania Mathcounts team

Mike Church

Student

Pennsylvania Mathcounts National Team 1995-6 and 1996-7

Katie Sherwin

student

California Polytechnic State University

Todd D. Spindler

Ph.D. candidate

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

University of Miami

Gary Gambill

B.S. in mathematics

Georgetown Graduate Student

Robert D. O. Kennedy

Dartmouth College '00

Pre-med and Biogenetics major

Brian Feldman

Pennsylvania Mathcounts National Team 1996-7

F. Dok Harris

Princeton '01

Thomas J. Wagner

student

Karoline Enzenberger

Alaska MathCounts National Team 95-96 and 96-97

Robert Hagopian, Student

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

Emily Hagopian, Student

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA