The teachers of Massachusetts are not required to teach the basic processes for math skills. Instead, they are allowed to leave students on their own to learn mathematics in their own way.
Critics say the students are being left behind in mathematical knowledge and understanding.
However, the present Board of Education is poised to remedy some of the deficiencies in the standards. It has instructed the Department of Education to revise the 1995 mathematics frameworks. But the teachers have come out in force in opposition to any change. A member of the Department of Education s Math and Science Advisory Committee, George Zeliger, recently told Massachusetts News about the weaknesses in the current framework. He is worried that the revised curriculum will be mishandled before it is finalized.