Tuesday, March 8, 2011

A Letter from a Math Teacher Concerning CSCOPE

      Below is a letter from a distraught math teacher who obviously understands the finer points of math instruction and can express specific problems with the CSCOPE curriculum.  I have made minimal changes to ensure the anonymity of the teacher.  I suspect that many more teachers in all areas are experiencing these kinds of frustrations every day.  Is this a worthwhile program?  Is it one we should scrap or just allow teachers to modify to get the best out of their students? 

Shirley,

I think you did an excellent job of highlighting some critical issues with C-Scope. As a math teacher currently being required to use this curriculum, I will add a few more:

1) This curriculum does not allow nearly enough practice for the average student, let alone the struggling learner. Material is being covered, not mastered. Mathematics is such a building block process that this means students never feel confident. Frustrated students often act out.

2) It doesn't incorporate review of material taught in past years. There also isn't an opportunity to take any time to review periodically topics taught during the year.

3) In math, it is wise when teaching a new concept to begin with simple numbers so that you can focus on the concept. C-Scope, in the name of rigor and complexity, often gives the students very difficult numbers to work with. This causes a great deal of frustration with the students, and the teacher has a hard time assessing whether the student is struggling with the concept or the computation.

4) The math curriculum is so scripted that it doesn't allow for "teachable moments." It also doesn't address different learning styles and teacher individuality.

5) There is absolutely no consistency from grade level to grade level. I know of teachers who teach two different grade levels currently, and it astounds me how much they find this to be the case.

6) The assessments do not match the lessons. The assessments are matched more closely with the TEKS, while the lessons themselves often read things into the TEKS that are not there. What C-Scope calls rigor, the students find confusing.

7) It brings students to the application level immediately before they have actually acquired the skill being taught. It also often combines a great deal of new learning at once.

8) The assumption is that all whole group learning is bad and all cooperative group learning is good. There leaves no room for teacher judgment.

One concern I have is the relationship between the creators of C-Scope and those persons responsible for creating the STAAR test. We have received and piloted STAAR screener tests. These tests really test whether or not teachers have taught specific models advocated by C-Scope. They aren't testing whether a student is able to solve a problem but whether they are able to do so using a specific method. There are a lot of assumptions about how students make meaning in mathematics, and there is not a lot of room for differentiation.

Another concern is that students are masters at picking up on whether their teachers are confident and believe in what they are doing. By being forced to use exclusively a curriculum which is highly scripted, the teachers are miserable. Even the best teachers become stressed and less than enthusiastic when put in this position. Teachers at our school have been frequently threatened with the loss of their jobs if they don't follow this to the letter. Any complaints are seen as resistance to change.

Our Professional Learning Communities are a joke since we actually have not been given any space to make professional decisions. At no point have we been asked to give constructive feedback. The sad thing is that it is obvious that our administrators don't feel like they have any power to make leadership decisions either since they are being micromanaged by the superintendent. It is a very sick environment, where many teachers are operating from a place of fear and anxiety.

I am very grateful for your willingness to speak up.

2 comments:

  1. This is exactly what I am seeing at all levels in all subjects. The lack of continuity, inability of the teacher to modify the lesson to accommodate the needs of his/her students, and lack of support from administration hinders the learning process tremendously. We are all praying that our test scores are good because we can't say with any assurance that our strict adherence to CSCOPE will deliver great scores. I just know that I feel like a sneak when I try to change the lesson to suit my kids. It's a horrible way to work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes!! That's what we've been saying for the past few years since having adopted CSCOPE. Hope somebody, anybody with any pull or influence takes the hint & reconciles these issues, please!!

    ReplyDelete

I have adjusted the settings on the comments to allow you to comment without having a Google account. If this still does not work, I will call one of my former students who can help me out.