UW Profs Write Open Letter About Students' Math Skills (or Lack Thereof)
Sixty University of Washington professors have signed an open letter discussing the trend of unprepared students. Science and Math teachers at the UW have noticed a rising number of their incoming students can't do basic math. Some instructors claim they've had to dumb down their classes because of the increasing lack of math skills.
Professor Cliff Mass, from the Atmospheric Science Department, gathered the signatures. He was inspired to write the letter because of the increasing number of freshmen in his courses who could not solve middle school-level math problems. The letter was predominantly signed by professors who taught math, science, and engineering courses. It is being sent to the state legislature in hopes they will continue to review and revise the state's math standards.
Seattlest found it espescially interesting that none of the signatours were from the UW School of Education, which is presumably training a large part of the solution to the problem--a new generation of teachers.
U-Dub Photo by Seattlest Flickr Pool User, espalier
