OCTM
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Being A Parent Counts
"Calculator Use" Position Statement
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Being A Parent Counts: A Guide to Helping Your Child Learn Mathematics at Home
October 10, 2002
Dear Principal,
The Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) is a professional association of educators whose focus is to support and promote quality mathematics education. Recently much attention has been focused on mathematics education due to the 2000 publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and the adoption of Ohio's Academic Mathematics Content Standards by the state board of education.
OCTM recognizes the importance of parental involvement in their child's education but realizes that many parents are not familiar with the standards-based approach to teaching and learning mathematics. We have written the enclosed booklet for parents of K-5 students to highlight some of the changes in the mathematics classrooms, how parents can help their children, and some interesting and fun activities that can be done at home.
Please copy the booklet and distribute it to parents or guardians of your K-5 students. Families can also find the booklet on the following websites (Link will open in a new window.):
Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics
To view the file, just click on the following link: Being a Parent Counts
This link will open in a new window as an Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF. If your computer does not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, you can download it free from http://www.adobe.com.
"Calculator Use" Position Statement:
(from the June 2002 OCTM newsletter)
CALCULATOR USE POSITION STATEMENT
The Model Competency-Based Mathematics Program for the State of Ohio (1990), which predates the current Academic Standards by more than a decade, stated the following:
"The [content] strands are organized with the assumption that calculators will be available for all levels of mathematics instruction. Calculators with graphing capabilities should be provided for all high school level instruction. Scientific calculators with an algebraic-operating system should be available to all middle or junior high school students. Elementary students need ready access to calculators at all times."
Furthermore, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in the Assessment Standards for School Mathematics (1995) emphasized the importance of having an alignment (consistency) between the tools used for instruction in the classroom and for assessment. Most recently, the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) stated that,
"electronic technologies — calculators and computers — are essential tools for teaching, learning, and doing mathematics."
Therefore, it is the position of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics that students should be permitted to use the same type of calculator when taking low- and high-stakes assessments as they would ordinarily use in their daily classroom and homework experiences. Just as an adult is permitted to use his/her own automobile when taking a driving test, OCTM endorses students being allowed to use their own personal (or school) calculators when participating in statewide assessments. If there are any items on an examination that are designed to measure mental computation or paper-and-pencil skills, such as a young child demonstrating computational fluency with whole numbers, then these items should be administered prior to remaining items where full calculator use is permitted.
(from the June 2002 OCTM newsletter)
Links: