SEATTLE -- King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector reviewed the evidence against the "Discovering Math" series and ruled the Seattle School Board was "arbitrary" and "capricious" in adopting it. Since last spring, math experts, parents and teachers, like Martha McLaren, had been critical of the curriculum because it didn't teach students fundamental math. Students were instructed to work in small groups to try to figure out math concepts on their own. Over the years, math test scores didn't improve.
"It was an amazing surprise," said McLaren of West Seattle, a retired middle school teacher. She, along with UW professor Cliff Mass and parent Da-Zanne Porter were the plaintiffs against the District in the case filed last June. "History has been against us, so it was really a shock."
Mass, contacted at his office, said he was "delighted" by the ruling but feared students would be stuck with the curriculum should the District decide to appeal the case.
In a press release, the District called it "a very surprising decision" and that it expects to appeal.
"We have an adopted math curriculum... that we will continue to use as we fulfill our obligation to advance our students' math education," the statement read.
In her ruling Judge Spector said the "Discovering" curriculum used so-called inquiry-based math texts. She noted that an experiment with a different inquiry-based math text at Cleveland and Garfield High Schools showed WASL scores overall declined after using the books. There was a significant drop for English language learners, including a 0% pass rate at one high school. Even the Washington State Board of Education found the "Discovering" series "mathematically unsound." The judge ordered the School Board to further review the issue.
McLaren said as a middle school teacher, she tried to teach the "Discovering" series but said her capable middle school students often couldn't understand it and felt like "failures." McLaren says moving to a different curriculum immediately is imperative.
"Of course it would be disruptive. The whole thing has been an incredible waste. But when you have a train that's going to run off a cliff, it's worth stopping the train and making the people get out and moving it onto a constructive track."
To add a comment, please register or login.