"There's a long-standing belief in our country that elementary teachers don't really need to get much math. The only thing you need to teach second-grade math is to learn third-grade math," said Kate Walsh, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based group. "We haven't put much attention to fact the elementary teachers are the first math teachers kids get. Their foundational skills have long-term ramifications whether that child will be able to do middle and high school math."
The NCTQ's findings are similar to a reading report the group released two years ago, claiming that 85 percent of undergraduate elementary education programs fail to adequately prepare students to teach reading.
Programs at other Utah universities were not included in the math study, which covered a randomly selected survey of 77 institutions in 49 states, examining the programs' requirements, course syllabuses and instruction materials. In an interview, the report's authors were careful to point out that USU's program uses strong textbooks and has broad math-based course requirements, but that the courses are tailored to a general audience as opposed to student teachers.
"They didn't look at the quality of our instruction. They were looking at more tangible things that were readily available," said Jim Dorward, interim head of the Logan school's elementary education program. "We have a strong program overall. Our graduates are well respected by principals and superintendents across the state. We have things we can certainly improve. How to be a good teacher is a lifelong process."
Few would disagree that the United States should improve the way its children learn math. Declining achievement in math may cause the nation to be less competitive in technology, observers say.
"What is more important than math in an elementary teacher other than reading?" Walsh said. "I see this as a national mandate. We are not producing American-born engineers on the pace we need. We're losing ground internationally on tests."
However, teaching more math would come at the expense of other subjects required by USU's program, such as social and physical sciences and language skills, Dorward said.
"When you prepare elementary teachers, they need to cover a lot of areas," the professor said. "There needs to be a balance, otherwise you won't be able to graduate them in the [four years] we generally allot for professional elementary teachers."
bmaffly@sltrib.com
