NY Times Spotlights New Staples Approach to Teaching Math

Today’s New York Times spotlights the decision by Westport’s Staples High School to jettison math textbooks for some students and instead use a custom-designed online curriculum.

“Math students in this high-performance school district used to rush through their Algebra I textbooks only to spend the first few months of Algebra II relearning everything they forgot or failed to grasp the first time,” the newspaper said.

“So the district’s frustrated math teachers decided to rewrite the algebra curriculum, limiting it to about half of the 90 concepts typically covered in a high school course in hopes of developing a deeper understanding of key topics.”

The Times noted that “Westport school officials say their less-is-more approach has already resulted in less review in math classes, higher standardized test scores and more students taking advance math classes.”

The report quoted Frank Corbo, head of the Staples math department, as saying Westport spent $70,000 to develop the new math curriculum and expects to save at least $25,000 a year on textbooks.