The History of Michigan Mathematics Education Standards: The Grade Level Content Expectations

Abstract

ABSTRACT THE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION STANDARDS: THE GRADE LEVEL CONTENT EXPECTATIONS by Jennifer Nimtz Master of Science in Mathematics Education California State University, Chico Spring 2009 This study examined Michigan’s mathematics education standards-based reforms within a historical context spanning the years 1893 through 2004. The research found that several interrelated issues including changing economic forces, new social structures, and policies resulting from international, national, and state politics influenced the development of Michigan mathematics standards documents. As economic and social structures shifted, formal education was made available to more people and later required of all. As a result, emerging education theories shaped mathematics education content and pedagogy. This thesis traces shifts in the purpose of mathematics education throughout history due to these forces and issues: at the turn of the Twentieth x Century, as education for industry; during the Cold War, as education for national security; influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, as education for equity; in the 1980s in response to international comparisons and the report A Nation at Risk, as education for global economic security; and culminating as education with high standards for ALL students following the No Child Left Behind Act. While the study discusses a number of public policies and theoretical perspectives and methodologies that influenced the development of Michigan standards, the federal No Child Left Behind Act was the primary impetus for the most recent K-8 Michigan Mathematics Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs). Further, the authors of the GLCEs utilized the standards of high achieving countries as determined by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study curricula research and Achieve’s Foundations for Success as primary resources for the development of the GLCEs. It was the process for the development of the Michigan Mathematics GLCEs that was the most difficult to unravel and identify due to conflicting accounts and the development of three documents. The first, the Michigan Curriculum Framework – Revision: Mathematics Grade Level Performance Expectations was written by K-12 mathematics educators who were recruited and supervised by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). This document went through four revisions based on feedback solicited from K-12 teachers through public review sessions and an online survey. A second document, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) Mathematics Grade Level Content Expectations, summarizing the first, was written for assessment and reporting purposes. This summary document was sent for academic review to Achieve and rexi ceived a poor rating in part due to its lack of specificity. However, during this time, a representative of the governor’s office reportedly recruited a new group of authors, comprised of university mathematicians and mathematics educators, to write a new set of standards. The resulting third document, the Michigan Mathematics Grade Level Content Expectations became the Michigan State Board of Education approved policy document following academic review by Achieve, but with no public review or input from K-12 teachers. The thesis concludes with several recommendations for future standards development/ revisions and research. Primary recommendations include the following. To ensure that standards are clear, mathematically correct, pedagogically appropriate, and well implemented, the committee of authors needs to include the state mathematics consultant( s), university mathematicians, university mathematics educators, and K-12 mathematics educators. To ensure education policy is a democratic process and to increase the success of implementation, mathematics standards must be available for and will benefit from both public review and academic review before adoption as state policy.