I know! Let's give the teachers a raise!

The school systems need to go back the the 50 and 60's and teach our children the basic math skills that we learned in school.

It is very obvious, by the students current test scores, that the teachers are ineffective in teaching the children today the NEW MATH!

Blaming the children and their parents, is geting very OLD!!!!!

Instead of focusing so much attention on the ridiculous "Senior Project" now required to graduate, why doesn't the Rhode Island school system make sure that our children learn the basics like reading, writing and arithmatic? GET RID OF THE SENIOR PROJECT and TEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No one should be surprised at these test scores. Students are taught how to utilize computers to solve math problems, correct grammatical errors, and obtain instant answers to almost any question. Computers are a vital tool but most kids use them as a shortcut. And, when it's time to show what they know...they can't think without a mouse in their hands!

Not good.

It sounds like advanced maths Algebra and Geometry need to be started in 6th grade instead of 8th grade so all the students have taken it by the time they get to 11th grade. This would only give kids five years to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

I think they can handle that work load. If not, hold them back or require summer school even after first grade. Another option would to have grades K-5 attend school year round. Either way, a solid foundation and confidence in the basics is critical to success in the more complex math subjects.

Can I ask a simple question? When will our leaders, ie, the Rhode Island department of Education...it's commission on down be held responsible for any of this. How many years has the Commissioner been here? It seems each year there is a different excuse.

A time for a change is long long over due.

HOW ABOUT THE STUDENTS SHOW UP FOR CLASS, DO THEIR ASSIGNMENTS AND BEHAVE IN A REASONABLE MANNER! THEY DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TOO, AFTER ALL....

WAKE UP! If kids can't add, subtract, multiply or divide and do simple arithmatic, without charts, blocks, calculators and a variety of other toys, how could anyone with any common sense expect them to advance any further!!Parents & teachers are frustrated because administrations are FORCING them to use programs like Investigations. Why? Because they will have to admit these "fuzzy math" programs are a complete failure but they're going to keep pushing it, telling us it just needs a few more years to show results. BULL! The results are in, it failed. Even the Nat'l Council of Teachers of Mathematics have gone back to insisting on the basics. So what are we waiting for? New math (Investigations, etc) has been a waste of money and time and our kids are paying dearly for it.

This is a fight between parents who know better and the education business that promotes itself. The real problem in Rhode Island is the RI Dept of Education forcing school boards to kowtow.
I feel bad for the parents that think schools are teaching their kids what they need to know to succeed.

I BELIEVE THAT THE LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND TAKES TO MUCH TIME AWAY FROM THE OTHER STUDENTS IN ANY GIVEN CLASS.iKNOW THAT THEY HAVE EXTRA STAFF TO HELP, HOWEVER, I STILL THINK IT TAKES THE TEACHER AWAY FROM HER REGULAR TEACHING TIME.

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Amazing! We just figured this out. When I was in the 9th grade, about 13 years ago, not one kid in my class could multiply. I was the only one who could and I felt like I was being punished with long division and they put me in an advanced Science class. Doesn't make sense does it. I always remind my Mother of this. How many meetings with the teachers and my mother did I have? I had to tell them every time “teach me something I didn't already know”. I still struggle with math and it’s embarrassing.
Also, I begged the Smithfield High School not to let my younger brother quit as I had made this same mistake. They told me they could do nothing. They wouldn’t even take the time to talk to me telling me I was the sister not his guardian. They just let him go as they did with me. I know I was bored and the teachers didn’t care. I can say I was not a punk. All I wanted was to learn something different.
They should take a look at the drop out rate. This is to be blamed on the parents that let there kids walk all over them and the teachers that are there just for a crummy pay check. Leave no child behind seems like a funny joke to me.

Bottom line is, our state education system has consistently declined since McWalters has headed our education system. A coincidence? I think not. This guy must go to help our children's future!

I'm confused. Have the math results always been this poor in RI, or have things gotten worse over the past 20 years? If the results are worse, why are the teaching practices still the same? Why aren't RI teachers using methods that work elsewhere?

It all starts at the elementary level. When the students are not mastering the foundations of math and reading during the very early years, learning opportunities are lost. PARENTS - Read with your children every day. TEACHERS - Assign a little reading and math homework every day. Grade based on mastering the material. SCHOOLS - Require students to master the basics before passing to the next grade. Students should "learn to read" from Kindergarten through third grade. Students should "read to learn" from that point forward. Math concepts should be introduced in the early grades, and should be mastered before learning to use calculators and computers to find the answers. RHODE ISLAND - Find a school system that is graduating students who are prepared for adult life. Figure out what it is they are doing right. Incorporate their planning into your own.

Just an observation from the town that pays its teachers the most(coventry) and had some pretty non exceptional results. Do I blame teachers NO People who cant do the math their kids are expected to do ,tell their kids every night, "I cant help you". They not their teachers set the example for ignorance. If you want your kids to do better.. help. I believe in my heart of hearts education begins at home and is hopefully supplemented at school. Successful people know this and it's no suprise,to me, their kids score better.

One of the contributing factors for the poor education showing - one that nobdy wants to talk about - is social promotion. These kids are promoted every year from kindergarden through the 8th grade regardless of their math proficiency. This implies that they are doing 'good enough' and lots of kids and parents buy into that thought. When they get to high school and are told things are diferent - they do not quite believe it, they have had 8 or 9 years of being told that and they get 'promoted' every year regardless.
So they end up in high school with two strikes - very poor preparation, and a poor work/study ethic.
And you wonder why the grades are so low?
The whole system needs a radical reform, with an emphasis on basics and less on handing out self-esteem!

As long as Providence schools continue to socially promote students that haven't mastered material for past grades, and compounds the problem by not tracking; students will continue to fail.

How is it possible to say that the teachers have failed in this matter when this district has created an unteachable situation in most Providence classrooms.

It is also tiresome to hear over and over who will be held (or should be held) accountable when there are never solutions actually being offered.

Why is it that parents blame the school system entirely?

Education starts at home. Let's test these parents and find the percentage that can read, write, add and subtract. I bet the percentages are even lower.

What does surprise me is how parents want the Schools to be responsible for everything. You decided to have these children, take responsibility. Educate yourself and your children.

... and yet,schools' "Honor Rolls" fill pages and pages of the Providence Journal.

I agree that parents need to spend time teaching their children the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Our children (one with a serious disability) attended RI public schools. All have diplomas and are now doing great. We spent a lot of time with our children from birth on. Our days included reading, writing, and math games. We used bedtime tuck-ins, car rides, dinner table conversations etc for the verbal games. Little kids can learn math facts. They like games and puzzles, and they love learning fun things and being challenged with puzzles at their level of learning. For instance, "How many pretzels do we need to take along if each of us wants to eat four?" Many of their elementary school teachers did not insist that their students memorize the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division tables. We felt strongly that these skills were important, so we practiced math facts in the car on the way to soccer practice and memorized the squares table together during road trips. These are things that even very little kids can learn and parents can and should teach them these skills. As the children got older, we gave them word problems, which they loved. We also taught them simple algebra with word problem games. "A mother gave her daughter a five dollar bill and told her to buy three cans of tomato soup, and keep the change. If one can of soup cost 90 cents, how much change did she get to keep?" When they got the answer we would explain that they had done algebra just like high school kids. "That's the same as 3X + Y = 5.00, where X = .90". We would write it out on paper so they could see the verbal puzzle in algebra format. They were curious, and they loved a challenge, and they loved us spending time with them.
Our family did not have tv or electronic toys -- instead we gave the children our time and attention.
What we would have appreciated most from the schools: insistence that every child learn the basics. For math: Every child absolutely must memorize the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division tables, no exception. This should be required early, and then reviewed often, year after year. Also, tons of practice manipulating those numbers with practice sheets and tests and more practice sheets and tests, as well as classroom game drills like Seven Up and Math Team etc. There is no reason why children shouldn't be strong in memorizing and manipulating numbers -- adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. That must be the cornerstone. When a child has demonstrated proficiency in the basics, then they can be rewarded by moving on to "fancier" stuff. There should be graduated classroom activities so the kids that learn the basics quickly can move on to harder things while those who need more time and practice continue to work on their math facts. Bless the 6th grade teacher who handed to each child at the year's beginning a folder containing a list of skills to be mastered by the end of the year. There was an outline of the year's units, and all homework and test assignments were listed and recorded as the skills were mastered. The teacher taught at a certain pace which covered all units by year's end. But he encouraged the students who could move faster to do so if they wanted to, turning in homework and reporting for tests when ready. Thanks to him, two of my children covered two years of math in one year. But more important, they were encouraged to be responsible for their own learning AND none of his students got "left behind" because each one had to demonstrate mastery of the skills.