VOA教育报道2023--Most American Schools Not Prepared to Identify Math Disabilities

Most American Schools Not Prepared to Identify Math Disabilities

Many American education experts are concerned about students' performance in the subject of mathematics.

Scores on standardized¹ tests are falling, students are having trouble learning² high-level math in college and some teachers do not feel prepared to teach math to young people.

Laura Jackson's daughter was nine years old when she discovered that she was having a learning problem that her school was not prepared to deal with.

Jackson said she started to worry about her daughter when she was having problems with math in third grade. She said other students had no trouble doing multiplication³ problems, but her daughter still used her fingers to count.

Discovering dyscalculia

At that point, the girl asked her mother if she was "stupid." She was still having trouble with math although she had been working with a special math teacher.

Then Jackson heard about a learning problem from a friend. It is called dyscalculia. She looked up the learning disability and found that the learning problem prevents children from understanding numbers and learning math.

"I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my kid'," Jackson said.

Around the U.S., hundreds of thousands of students might have a math-learning problem such as dyscalculia. However, most schools are not prepared to deal with the condition.

Easier to find reading problems

Schools are getting better at discovering learning problems. States passed laws that require testing young students for problems such as dyslexia, a common reading disability. But schools are not yet required to test for problems with numbers. One study, published by the National Library of Medicine in 2019, said between three and seven percent of the population has dyscalculia.

Karen Wilson is a neuropsychologist who tests children for learning problems. "There's not as much research on math disorders," when compared to reading problems, she said.

Math test scores have been decreasing in the U.S. for years, but the numbers got worse after the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way students learned⁴. Few teachers say anyone has tested their students for dyscalculia.

Education experts say the kind of slow and repetitive math teaching⁵ that helps students with dyscalculia might also help other students.

Sandra Elliott currently⁶ works⁷ for TouchMath, an education company that sells a math teaching program. She used to be a special education teacher. She said schools that change their teaching to help students who have "severe disconnections and slower processing speeds," will also help other students get better at math.

Some schools, such as the one Jackson's daughter attended, do not always believe students have a serious math learning problem when they do well in other subjects.

Jackson researched dyscalculia on her own and decided⁸ to write a book about her family's problems. She found many schools do not know about the problem.

She said parents think schools will let them know if their child is having trouble, "but that's just not how it works."

How to help students

Lynn Fuchs is a professor in special education and human development at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. She said students with math learning problems need "systematic⁹ and explicit¹⁰" teaching. That means they need math teachers who have learned how to help students who have a math disability. Most do not have enough training. For example, some states require teachers to get dyslexia awareness¹¹ training in order to renew¹² their teaching permit. But no such requirement exists for dyscalculia.

Amelia Malone is a director at the National Center for Learning Disabilities. She said there are not enough high-level degrees in education that center on math learning disabilities "with any level of...depth, quality or rigor¹³."

In addition, most schools do not have specialists who can work with math learning problems. Jackson said she took it upon herself to learn how to teach students with dyscalculia and started giving her daughter extra help.

In New York City, some schools do look for math problems among their students. In 2015 and 2016, the city spent $6 million to introduce a math program with games, art projects and songs. However, most school systems do not do that.

Some education experts say students, such as Jackson's daughter, could improve if schools used different methods to teach math to young people. These could include games, wooden blocks, body motions¹⁴ and songs.

After spending time working with her daughter, Jackson said the girl returned to classes and as her education continued, she started getting good grades in Algebra¹⁵.

She said students need to understand they are not "bad at math." They need help learning and can then succeed in the subject.

Words in This Story

standardized test –n. a test that is the same for everyone which aims to measure a student's ability in one or more subjects

multiplication –n. repeated addition of a number by one or more other numbers or values

gosh –interjection an expression of surprise

systematic –adj. a method that follows a system and is not disordered or impossible to explain

explicit –adj. clearly stated; openly shown

rigor –n. a quality of being exact, strict and careful

1 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

4 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

10 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 renew   

vt.使更新，复始，使恢复，补充；vi.更新，重新开始

参考例句：

• The most important thing is to renew your health.最重要的是恢复你的健康。
• We must renew our supplies of coal.我们必须补充煤的储备。

13 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

14 motions   

n.（物体的）运动( motion的名词复数 )；提议；通便

参考例句：

• She just went through the motions of being a poetess. 她只不过装成一个女诗人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always accompanied his speech with motions. 他讲演时总是伴以手势。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。