FCTE, FCTM, GCTM, MCTM

One week ago, at the same time, Walch Education was exhibiting at four educational conferences: the Florida Council of Teachers of English (http://www.fcte.org), the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.fctm.net), the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.gctm.org) and the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.marylandmath.org).

In the South and in the North, talking to language arts teachers and talking to mathematics teachers, we kept hearing the same things:

• Even the textbooks that supposedly align to state standards often miss the mark, leaving the teachers to fill in the gaps
• Hands-on learning is critical
• If it makes a teacher's life easier, it has value
• Test prep drives much of what teachers work on

That last item is particularly noteworthy. Whatever an individual teacher's -- or district's, or state's -- opinion about "teaching to the test," those standardized tests cannot be ignored.

And more are coming. According to Outsell, a research and advisory firm focused on the publishing, information, and education industries, "Starting in 2012, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) will for the first time measure technology literacy and proficiency among K-12 students on a national level."

The materials and programs that garner interest are those that make a teacher's life easier and help prepare kids for tests.

One of our programs that drew a lot of attention was the Station Activities series: http://www.walch.com/search.php?catid=42 We currently have versions addressing Georgia and Florida standards, as well as a national version. These are all for middle school mathematics classes; in a few months, we'll have language arts versions, too.

New education standards and funding questions in Florida

Our hats are off to the organizers of this week's annual meeting of the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics (FCTM, http://www.fctm.net/). They’ve used a "math rocks" theme to put together a well organized and well attended conference. You can pick up a great t-shirt with a chalkboard on the front for under $10, the food is super and the discussion is lively.

At the Walch Publishing booth, and elsewhere on the convention floor, we’ve been hearing two topics on everybody’s lips. First is the anticipated state budget cuts that are expected to have a negative affect on educational funds. This, in a state where the per-pupil spending level is already one of the lowest in the country. The Miami Herald covered the story of the budget cuts, and the School Board chairman of Broward County has weighed in with a reasoned reaction. (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/property_tax/story/267528.html
and
http://www.browardschools.com/pdf/consortiumwilliams.pdf

The second issue is testing. The current Sunshine State Standards are changing, but the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) isn’t scheduled to be revised for there years. Understandably, there's some confusion: will districts wait to implement the new standards, because the existing FCATs reflects the old ones?

While these appropriately weighty matters are being discussed, we took the opportunity to introduce show attendees to our "coming out" party for the Academic Support Program for Middle School Mathematics, developed with the School District for Palm Beach County. The reactions were resoundingly positive and it looks like we have a winner on our hands. We look forward to working closely in the future with Palm Beach and other districts to keep these products fresh and relevant, and, most importantly, effective. (Al Noyes)