After Vote, School Board Looks to End Math Battle

In the Prince William County school system, the post-math-war era is starting to settle in.

In a highly awaited vote, the Prince William School Board rejected a proposal this month that would have given elementary school parents the choice between having their kids use traditional math or the controversial "Investigations in Number, Data, and Space" textbook series currently implemented. Instead, the School Board voted to direct schools to use a blended approach in which teachers can use any materials they think are necessary.

School Board members said they are relieved that the battle appears over -- or at least on a long hiatus until parents get riled up again -- but Chairman Milton C. Johns (At Large) said in an interview that he is worried a larger question still lingers about the power dynamic between the elected board and the hired school staff. In the vote early this month, board members voted 4 to 4 on the proposal allowing choice. Under school policy, a tie vote results in a rejection.

"The board was split between rubberstamping everything from the administration and giving voice and a choice to parents on an instructional matter," said Johns, who voted in favor of the measure. "The bottom line is that this board has overwhelmingly backed the superintendent and instructional leadership of the school system in almost every issue. This is probably the first occasion with this board where there's been a significant split."

Johns said the unresolved debate is important because the School Board might face another instructional battle in the spring, when it's time to review new history books for high school. Some high schools, he said, use books that are "replete with unmitigated liberal bias" and that discuss the collapse of the Soviet Union without mentioning President Ronald Reagan.

"For an honest examination of the fall of the Soviets, you can't eliminate Reagan. You may not agree with it, but the Reagan-era policies contributed overwhelmingly to the fall of the Soviet Union," he said. "The books smack more of propaganda than of academic quality."

Johns said he was disappointed that the math proposal failed. The "Investigations" curriculum, from Pearson Education, which has been used in various incarnations since the 1990s in thousands of classrooms nationwide, teaches children math with creative approaches -- using blocks or drawing pictures to solve problems, for instance. The program emphasizes that the process of solving problems is as critical as the answers.

Test results are mixed, with many school districts or schools improving under "Investigations" and others seeing dips at certain levels. Advocates of "Investigations" say the curriculum gives students a deeper understanding of how numbers work together and will ultimately help them quickly grasp algebraic concepts in middle and high school, as well as possibly boost SAT scores.

Johns said it was in the middle of last year when he decided that "Investigations" might not be as effective as traditional math. He said he thinks that the program works for many parents and students but that it has legitimate detractors.

"The turning point for me was when some parents who came out to speak handed out two tests," Johns said. "On one test, there was a series of problems, and a child simply wrote 'three times six equals 18,' and the teacher marked it wrong. On the other test, a child used 'Investigations' and used blocks and diagrams and got all the answers wrong, and yet the child passed, because the teacher had done all the diagramming. Frankly, that was a shock to the solar plexus."

Alexis Miller, a parent who has helped lead the opposition to "Investigations," said she took some solace in winning support from half the eight-member School Board. "I know for myself that I was encouraged by the fact that four School Board members were supporting us, which was a huge change from six to 12 months ago," she said.

Miller said she'll be watching schools to see whether they follow through with the School Board's decision to permit schools to use traditional materials.

Will she still be in touch with the central office?

"Oh, yeah," she said. "I'm also still planning to go back to School Board meetings."