Those who cheered an end to Utah’s math wars might have celebrated prematurely.

The Utah Board of Education this summer approved new state math standards, a move that was supposed to signal the end of a battle that began years ago in the Alpine School District over the best way to teach math. The new standards dictate which math skills and concepts are to be taught at each grade level across the state.

But no one was happily shaking hands over the new standards at the state Capitol last week. Instead, lawmakers, educators and mathematicians spent nearly three hours debating whether the new state math standards are world-class or embarrassingly inadequate. Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, even suggested forming a new task force to study the issue further.

On top of that, some in the Alpine district say the problems there, where the war essentially began, aren’t over either. The district had to stop using a controversial math curriculum as its primary textbook, but still uses it alongside more traditional math lessons, continuing to draw the ire of some parents and teachers.

“It seems like the math wars are alive and well,” said Aaron Bertram, chairman of the University of Utah math department…

Source: Salt Lake Tribune, United States
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6982084