6. New methods of math education in this country do a disservice to our
children. In the lower grades, math instruction should focus on the basic
skills that students will need to solve complex problems in higher grades.
Learning basic math skills is like learning the scales and chords that one
will later use to master complicated concertos and symphonies.
Increasingly, math educators in this country seem to have it backward,
emphasizing in higher grades the same narrow, skills-based approach that
students learned in lower grades rather than the analytical tools that they
will need to solve complex math problems.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the
conclusion drawn above?
(A)
While music courses are often included in elementary school
curricula, such classes are rarely taught in high school.
(B)
On international tests of complex math skills, high school students
in this country performed worse than they used to relative to their
counterparts from countries in which problem solving is emphasized
in higher grades.
(C)
When presented with a math problem to solve, students in higher
grades are more likely to arrive at different answers than students in
lower grades.
(D)
Older students tend to receive higher grades in math than younger
students do.
(E)
Universities report a steady increase in the percentage of high
school applicants from this country who qualify to take courses such
as engineering that require advanced math.
7.
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