Here's an interesting article in the latest
Education Next. It's by Barry Garelick, who we've
seen before. Garelick points out that on an international math test for eighth-graders, Singapore's students score a full standard deviation higher -- about three or four grade levels -- than do Americans. The article then points out that, unlike American textbooks, Singaporean textbooks are not full of games, puzzles, flashy pictures, and other distracting activities. The overall point of the article is to analyze why American school districts have not been adopting textbooks on the Singapore model to the extent that they should.
I think that if they checked they would also find that the textbooks and methods in Singapore are consistent year to year. One of the biggest problems in education in the United States is not the learning material themselves but the fact that learning strategies and materials dramatically change year to year providing a sloppy and non-comprehensive educational experience.
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