Bringing the Common Core State Mathematics Standards to Life

Phoenix Rising By Hung-Hsi Wu
For many teachers, mathematics is a frightening subject. They are right to be afraid: most math standards are incoherent and virtually all textbooks contain many errors. Worse, teacher education in mathematics, both pre- and in-service, tends to be light on mathematics content that is relevant to the K–12 classroom. Solving these problems will take enormous effort, but the Common Core State Mathematics Standards are an important first step. Unlike most other standards, these have the potential to logically and coherently build students' knowledge of mathematics. Bringing these standards to life in classrooms will require a new partnership between mathematicians and educators so that correct mathematics and effective pedagogy can be written into brand new (not revised!) teacher education programs and student textbooks.