The Decline Of Math In US Schools

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) did a recent study that proved that there is a decline in math education in America. Out of the 30 countries that ranked on top based on Science and Reading scores, US has the highest discrepancy. The gap between math and the other two subjects factored by PISA was immense. This disparity is not new. Over the 16-year course of PISA performing the test, math has declines slowly and steadily while the scores of science and reading have remained stagnant. Are You On Page 1?
One reason for this may the emphasis on project-based learning and group activities. The time when textbooks were the main source of learning been replaced by these new strategies. Because textbooks are seen as algorithmic, math is now being taught using projects. But creating a good project that actually trains a child in math is extremely hard. Furthermore, it required dedicated time on part of the teacher. Something that few instructors have. This has led toyoung children not grasping the concepts of math. While project-based learning is great in principle, more needs to be done if the decline of math is to be stopped in American schools.