ARebuttaltotheStatement:Missing,Delayed,orMuddledTopicsinCommon

CoresMathStandardsbyR.JamesMilgramandZeevWurman
JereConfrey1
JosephD.MooreDistinguishedUniversityProfessorofMathematicsEducation
NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
Member,NationalValidationCommitteefortheCommonCoreStateStandards
Standardsarenegotiatedagreementsamongexpertsandaredesignedtoreflectdiverse
knowledgeandexperience.TheCCSSMStandardswritinginvolvedavarietyofexpertsover18
monthsofhardwork.Withthisinmind,Iseektoresponddirectlytotheclaimsinthedocument
providedtotheCommissionbyR.JamesMilgramandZeevWurman.AsaMemberofthe
NationalValidationCommitteeandacitizenofRaleigh,NorthCarolina,Isubmitthisstatement
inordertocorrecttherecordandchallenge,withevidence,anumberofinaccurateormisleading
statementsinMilgram/Wurmandocument.MyresponseislimitedtogradesK8toillustrateto
theaveragereaderthekindsofspuriousreasoninginthedocument.Therearesixsectionstothe
critique.
I.OnUsingStandardAlgorithms
Developingfluencyinthestandardalgorithmsisaddressedexplicitlyandrepeatedlyinthe
standards.Usingasounddevelopmentalapproach,aconceptualbaseisbuiltforanoperation
usingmodelsandplacevalue;theninthefollowingyears,fluencyintheuseofstandard
algorithms(withcaseswithmoreandmoredigits)isrequiredexplicitlyofourstudents.

Fluencyinadditionandsubtractionisaddressedinstandards.2.NBT.B.5,3.NBT.A.2,
and4.NBT.B.4
Fluencyinmultiplicationisaddressedin3.OA.C.7,and5.NBT.B.5
Fluencyindivisionisaddressedin6.NS.B.2
Fluencyinallfouroperationsforrationalnumbersisaddressedin6.NS.B.3

Therefore,Milgram/Wurmansclaim,automaticitywiththestandardalgorithmsofarithmetic
notrequiredinCCMS,issimplyuntrue.Singaporeusesthelanguagecommittingtomemory;
hence,Milgram/WurmanwoulddiscredittheSingaporestandardsforlackingthewords
proficiency,mastery,orautomaticity.LikewiseFinland,anotherhighperformingcountry,
wouldalsobediscredited.Infact,ourstudentsarerequiredtolearnthestandardalgorithms,
quiteproperly,tofluency.
Therelevantstandardsforeachofthefouroperationsarereproducedbelow.
2.NBT.B.5Fluentlyaddandsubtractwithin100usingstrategiesbasedonplacevalue,propertiesof
operations,and/ortherelationshipbetweenadditionandsubtraction.
3.NBT.A.2Fluentlyaddandsubtractwithin1000usingstrategiesandalgorithmsbasedonplace
value,propertiesofoperations,and/ortherelationshipbetweenadditionandsubtraction.
3.OA.C.7Fluentlymultiplyanddividewithin100,usingstrategiessuchastherelationshipbetween
multiplicationanddivision(e.g.,knowingthat85=40,oneknows405=8)orpropertiesof
operations.BytheendofGrade3,knowfrommemoryallproductsoftwoonedigitnumbers.

1 All statements are the professional opinion of the author and do not represent any
official organization or institution.

4.NBT.B.4Fluentlyaddandsubtractmultidigitwholenumbersusingthestandardalgorithm.
4.NBT.B.4Fluentlyaddandsubtractmultidigitwholenumbersusingthestandardalgorithm.
5.NBT.B.5Fluentlymultiplymultidigitwholenumbersusingthestandardalgorithm.
6.NS.B.2Fluentlydividemultidigitnumbersusingthestandardalgorithm.
6.NS.B.3Fluentlyadd,subtract,multiply,anddividemultidigitdecimalsusingthestandard
algorithmforeachoperation.

II.OnRatioandProportionalRelationshipsinGrades6and7
Milgram/Wurmanclaimthatratioisintroducedtoolate,buttheyoverlookedstandardsplaced
carefullyingrades4and5thatbuildafoundationforanunderstandingofratio.Tounderstand
ratioandproportioninCCSSM,onehastounderstandabasiclearningconceptthelearning
trajectory/progression,whichdescribes,basedonempiricalstudy,howstudentscometo
understandanidea,movingfromnaveorpartialideastomoreadvancedones.Milgram/Wurman
arecorrectthatthewordratioisnotintroducedinK5.However,twostandards,oneinfourth
(4.MD.A.1)andoneinfifthgrade(5.MD.A.1),explicitlyaddressmeasurementconversionwithin
measuringsystems(inchestofeet),whichconstitutesasubstantialintroductiontoratioreasoning.
Moreover,anotherfifthgradestandard,5.OA.B.3,hasstudentsexaminetwocolumntablesof
(x,y)andgraphthemtoexploretheirrelationships.Onesuchtableofwouldlikelybebasedona
multiplicativerelationship(1,3),(2,6)(3,9)etc.allexamplesoftheratio3:1.Thus,thesethree
grade4and5standards,inmeasurementandinoperationsandalgebraicthinking,ensurethat
studentsarereadyfortheextensivetreatmentofratioinsixthgrade.Therelevantstandardsare
reproducedbelow:
4.MD.A.1Solveproblemsinvolvingmeasurementandconversionofmeasurements.Knowrelative
sizesofmeasurementunitswithinonesystemofunitsincludingkm,m,cm;kg,g;lb.,oz.;l,ml;hr.,
min,sec.Withinasinglesystemofmeasurement,expressmeasurementsinalargerunitintermsof
asmallerunit.Recordmeasurementequivalentsinatwocolumntable.Forexample,knowthat1ft
is12timesaslongas1in.Expressthelengthofa4ftsnakeas48in.Generateaconversiontable
forfeetandincheslistingthenumberpairs(1,12),(2,24),(3,36),...
5.MD.A.1Convertlikemeasurementunitswithinagivenmeasurementsystem.Convertamong
differentsizedstandardmeasurementunitswithinagivenmeasurementsystem(e.g.,convert5cm
to0.05m),andusetheseconversionsinsolvingmultistep,realworldproblems.
5.OA.B.3Analyzepatternsandrelationships.Generatetwonumericalpatternsusingtwogiven
rules.Identifyapparentrelationshipsbetweencorrespondingterms.Formorderedpairsconsistingof
correspondingtermsfromthetwopatterns,andgraphtheorderedpairsonacoordinateplane.

TheauthorsalsoexpressindignationontheCCSSMsuseofthewordnearlyintheexample
introducingratiosthatstates:"ForeveryvotecandidateAreceived,candidateCreceivednearly
threevotes."Perhapstheirmathematicalpreferenceisforanexactratio.However,studentslive
inaworldinwhichtheyneedtoapplyratiototheworldaroundthemasamodelfor
relationships.Ifonecandidatereceived35,415votesandtheotherreceived102,745,itis
certainlyappropriatetodescribeitaswrittenabove,asonebeingnearlythreetimesasmany.
Thenearlyinthesentencereferstotheapproximationorestimationmade.Approximationand
estimationcanandshouldbetaughtatearlygrades;henceitisthereforeinaccuratefor
Milgram/Wurmantostate,Atbestit[likely]correspondstoarangeofratios,butthetoolsfor
handlingsuchobjectsarenotcovereduntilcollegeandrequireadvancedcalculus.Skillsin
approximationandestimationarepartofthefundamentalmathematicalpracticesofmodeling
withmathematics(Practice4)andattendingtoprecision(Practice6)addressedacrossthegrades.

Withfurtherregardtoratioandproportion,Milgram/Wurmansclaimthatmosthighachieving
countriesbeginwithratiosusingthefollowingdefinitionisnottrue.Theywrote,inhigh
achievingcountries,studentsarefirstgiventhedefinition:twopointsinthecoordinateplane,(a,
b)and(c,d),areinaproportionalrelationshipifandonlyifneitheris(0,0)andtheybothlieon
asinglestraightlinethroughtheorigin.Presumingthataisnonzero,thenwritingb=ra(sor=
b/a),weseethatdmustequalrcforthetwopointstoformaproportion.Infact,inmost
countries,nodefinitionsareincludedinthestandards,juststatementsoftopicsandwhentoteach
them.Milgram/Wurmansdefinitionisintheformofatheorem,isnotatanintroductorylevelat
all,andisanissueofcurriculumnotstandards.Thisconfusionbythewritersdemonstratestheir
lackofexperienceinteachingchildren.Thereasonstandardsarewrittenbycoalitionsofexperts
includingmathematicians,matheducators,specialeducators,professionalswithotherareasof
expertiseistohelpmaintaintheimportantdistinctionsamongstandards,curricularapproaches,
andformaldefinitions.
ThedifferencebetweenhowtheCCSSMintroducesgraphingandratiosin6.RP.A.3.Aand
7.RP.A.2.AandMilgram/Wurmanssuggestedapproachisreallyquiteunderstandable.InCCSS
M,onebuildsaratiorelationshipbydrawingalinethroughtheoriginandapoint(a,b)to
establishtheratiob:a.InMilgram/Wurmansdefinitionofproportionalityrepresentsatestfora
proportionalrelationship,giventwopoints.Onecheckstoseeifalinethroughthosetwopoints
onlygoesthroughtheorigin.Eitherapproachismathematicallycorrect.Developmentally,
however,itmakessensetolearnaconceptofratiofirst,findingoutthatasetofequivalentratios
writtenasanorderedpairsusingaratiotablefallsalongastraightlinethroughtheorigin.
Learningtotestforproportionalrelationsisimportant,butitcomeslater.TherelevantCCSSM
standardsarewrittenbelow:
6.RP.A.3.AMaketablesofequivalentratiosrelatingquantitieswithwholenumbermeasurements,
findmissingvaluesinthetables,andplotthepairsofvaluesonthecoordinateplane.Usetablesto
compareratios.
7.RP.A.2.ADecidewhethertwoquantitiesareinaproportionalrelationship,e.g.,bytestingfor
equivalentratiosinatableorgraphingonacoordinateplaneandobservingwhetherthegraphisa
straightlinethroughtheorigin.

Threecrucialpointshelponetoavoidbeingconfusedormisledbythestatementsinthe
Milgram/Wurmandocument:
1. Standardsarenotintendedasstatementsabouthowtoteachatopic;theyareinsteada
meanstocoordinatewhattoteachatagivengrade,
2. Standardsarenotformalmathematicaldefinitionsandtheorems(thoughtheydependon
them).
3. Standardsshouldbeorderedbygradetoformcoherentpathsoflearning,orlearning
trajectories/progressions(whicharefoundbycarefulempiricalstudy),notsimplymade
upaslogicalthoughtexperimentsbymathematiciansoreducators.
III:OnOtherIncorrectorMisleadingStatements
1.Milgram/WurmanincorrectlyclaimthatCCfailstoteachdecimalsuntilgrade4,abouttwo
yearsbehindhighachievingcountries.Finlandgroupsitsstandardsintogradebandsof35so
thatonecannottellwhendecimalsareintroduced.Singaporeintroducesdecimalsingrade4.No
countryIcouldfindintroducesdecimalsinsecondgrade.

2.Milgram/WurmanfalselyclaimthatCCexcludesconversionbetween[among]different
formsoffractions:regularfractions,decimals,andpercents.WhileMilgram/Wurmanwanted
theskillwritteninoneplace,theauthorsoftheStandardschosetodiscussthistopicgradually
overthreerelevantstandards.Insixthgrade(6.RP.A.3.C),theStandardsaddresspercentin
relationtoratiosandratesthushandlingtheconversionfroma/bto%;inseventhgrade
(7.NS.A.2.D),withconvertingafractiontoadecimalcoveredinfourthandfifthgrades,the
Standardsconcentrateonconvertingafractiontoadecimalbydivision;Ineighthgrade
(8.NS.A.1),theCCSSMstandardsdiscusshowtoconvertarepeatingdecimaltoafraction.This
standardcompletesthelearningtrajectory/progressionbyintroducingirrationalnumbers.Itseems
clearthatrecognizingthelearningprogressionprovedelusivetoMilgramandWurman.Butit
leadsthemtomisrepresenttheclaimandmisusethewordexclude.Therelevantstandardsare
reproducedbelow:
6.RP.A.3.CFindapercentofaquantityasarateper100(e.g.,30%ofaquantitymeans30/100
timesthequantity);solveproblemsinvolvingfindingthewhole,givenapartandthepercent.
7.NS.A.2.DConvertarationalnumbertoadecimalusinglongdivision;knowthatthedecimalform
ofarationalnumberterminatesin0soreventuallyrepeats.
8.NS.A.1Knowthatnumbersthatarenotrationalarecalledirrational.Understandinformallythat
everynumberhasadecimalexpansion;forrationalnumbersshowthatthedecimalexpansion
repeatseventually,andconvertadecimalexpansion,whichrepeatseventuallyintoarational
number.

3.Thefailureoftheseauthorstosufficientlyunderstandknownpatternsinstudentlearningis
furtherillustratedbytheircommentaboutaminormathematicalerrorinthesestandards.The
minormathematicalerrortowhichtheyreferisthatdecimalsthatterminateinzerocanbe
classifiedasrepeatingdecimals,because,forexample,.5couldbewrittenas.5000,adecimal
witharepeatingzero.
Formally,thisisatruestatement.However,toastudent,adecimalthatterminatesis
fundamentallydifferentthanonethatrepeatsinfinitely.Theideathat1/3islocatedonethirdof
thewayfrom0to1yetisexactlyequalto.333typicallyamazesstudents.Studentsareoften
delightedtolearnthatanumberthatappearstogrowinfinitelycanbelocatedpreciselyatapoint
onthenumberlineandnamed,forexample,1/3.Seeingthatequals.5000doesnotproducethe
samecompellingdiscussions.Distinguishingrepeatingdecimalsanddecimalsterminatingin0
wasnotanerror:theauthorsoftheStandardswerequiterighttoseparatethesetwoideas.
4.Milgram/Wurmansdiscussionofcompoundinterestshowsasimilarfailureofexperiencewith
studentlearning.ItaughtforfourteenyearsatCornellUniversity;Istudiedstudents(including
collegefreshmen)understandingofexponentialfunctions,andIcanassureyouthatpriorto
CCSSM,amultitudeofsmartstudentsfailedtounderstandcompoundinterestdueto
memorizinginsteadofunderstandingformulaslikethosepresented.Whentoldapersonearns5%
compoundintereston$100overthreeyears,forinstance,theseIvyleaguestudentswould
inevitablymultiply.05x.05x.05andthenmultiplyby$100.Theirfailurecanbetracedbackto
afailuretounderstandpercentincreaseasmultiplicationbysinglevalue,as,inthiscase,$100x
1.05ratherthantosolveitas.05x100+100.Thetwostepprocessfailsthemastheytackle
compoundinterest.Understandingtheimportanceoffirstestablishinghowtounderstandpercent
increaseordecreasebyintroducingexponentsusingScientificNotationasinCCSSMprovidesa

betterchanceofavoidingthismisconception.CCSSMaddressespercentincreaseanddecrease
threeways,instandards7.RP.A.3,7.EE.A.2,and7.EE.B.3(reproducedbelow).
7.RP.A.3Useproportionalrelationshipstosolvemultistepratioandpercentproblems.Examples:
simpleinterest,tax,markupsandmarkdowns,gratuitiesandcommissions,fees,percentincrease
anddecrease,percenterror.
7.EE.A.2Understandthatrewritinganexpressionindifferentformsinaproblemcontextcanshed
lightontheproblemandhowthequantitiesinitarerelated.Forexample,a+0.05a=1.05ameans
thatincreaseby5%isthesameasmultiplyby1.05.
7.EE.B.3Solvemultistepreallifeandmathematicalproblemsposedwithpositiveandnegative
rationalnumbersinanyform(wholenumbers,fractions,anddecimals),usingtoolsstrategically.
Applypropertiesofoperationstocalculatewithnumbersinanyform;convertbetweenformsas
appropriate;andassessthereasonablenessofanswersusingmentalcomputationandestimation
strategies.Forexample:Ifawomanmaking$25anhourgetsa10%raise,shewillmakean
additional1/10ofhersalaryanhour,or$2.50,foranewsalaryof$27.50.Ifyouwanttoplacea
towelbar93/4incheslonginthecenterofadoorthatis271/2incheswide,youwillneedtoplace
thebarabout9inchesfromeachedge;thisestimatecanbeusedasacheckontheexact
computation.

IV:OntheDiscussionofRigor
MilgramandWurmancitedtheDictionaryofEducationReform(edglossary.org/rigor)as
definingrigoras,Whiledictionariesdefinethetermasrigid,inflexible,orunyielding,
educatorsfrequentlyapply(theterms)rigororrigoroustoassignmentsthatencouragestudentsto
thinkcritically,creatively,andmoreflexibly.Likewise,theymayusethetermrigorousto
describelearningenvironmentsthatarenotintendedtobeharsh,rigid,oroverlyprescriptive,but
thatarestimulating,engaging,andsupportive.MilgramandWurmanusedthiscitationbut
failedtoprovidetheactualdefinitionthattheauthorssaidappliestousingrigortodescribe
standardsfromlaterthesamesource.Itstates,Onecommonwayinwhicheducatorsdouse
rigortomeanunyieldingorrigidiswhentheyarereferringtorigorouslearningstandardsand
highexpectationsi.e.,whentheyarecallingforallstudentstobeheldtothesamechallenging
academicstandardsandexpectations.(samecitation)
Basedontheirmisrepresentationofhoweducatorsusethetermrigor,theyconcludeAtbest,
educationprofessionalswhouserigoroustodescribeCCMSmaywellbesayingthatits
standardspromotecreativityandflexiblethinking(althoughtheydonotindicatehow)andthey
mayalsobeimplyingabsolutelynothingaboutaccuracyorintellectualdemand. Thisdiscussion
ofrigorisfranklypolemical,anddemeansthehundredsofuswhodedicatedayearandahalfof
ourlivesvoluntarilytodevelopingtheCCSSM.
Rather,theCCSSMweredesignedtoprovidecoherence,focus,andrigor.Coherencerefersto
howtheyfittogether,includingtheunderlyingtrajectories/progressions.Focusreferstothe
difficultdecisionstoeliminatemanytopicsateachgradelevel,tokeepthemconcise.Andrigor
referstothecarefulattentiontomatchingourstandardstootherrelevantsetsofinternational
standards.
Furthermore,inthenextparagraph,theysay,forfoundationalmathematics,neithercreativity
norflexibilityisdesired.Thiscommentagainillustratestheircompleteinabilitytounderstandor
appreciatethebeautyinchildrensthinkingaboutfoundationalmath,whichisoftencreativeand
quiteclever.Itseemstosuggestthatflexibilityandcreativityinmathematicscanonlybe
demonstratedbyadvancedmathematicians.

V:AllStandardsRequireaMeansofReviewandImprovement
Anystandardswritingprocessresultsinsomelessthanoptimalstatements.Forinstance,Iagree
withMilgramandWurmanthatprimefactorizationshouldhavebeenexplicitlymentionedinthe
CCSSM.However,itshouldbenotedthatStandard4.0A.B.4doesaddressprimesand
composites.GCFandLCMareaddressedinsixthgrade;thesetopicsaremostefficiently
addressedusingprimefactorization.ItwouldbesimpletomodifytheCCSSMtoincludeexplicit
referencetoprimefactorization.EveryoneconnectedwiththeStandardsexpectedtoseeminor
modificationsaswellastoseechangesovertimeastools,curriculum,disciplinesand
applicationschange.Manyofuswouldwelcomeanopportunitytoreexamineandreviseafewof
theCCSSMstandardsthroughasystematicprocesstomakeperiodicrevisions.
TheassessmentsaretoooftenconfusedwiththeStandards.Itiscriticaltorecognizethat
whateverassessmentsystemisselectedwillprovideanimportantsourceofdatatoguidethe
revisionoftheStandards.TheprocessofStandardsreviewandrevisionmustbeconnectedtothe
assessmentsystemsoastocreateameanstogaugeprogressovertime,makeappropriate
adjustmentsbypanelsofexperts,and,ultimately,toimprovecoherenceandalignmentof
Standards,instruction,andassessment.
VI:Conclusions
TheNCLegislaturedecidedtoreviewtheirdecisiontoadoptCCSSafterthreeyearsofstatewide
preparationforimplementation.ThisdecisionhasleftourteachersinNCwithmassive
ambiguity,whentheirfocusshouldbeonsuccessfulandthoroughimplementationthatleverages
theeconomiesofscalecreatedbythelargecoalitionofadoptingStates.Thisisunfortunate
becausethereismuchworktodointhisregard,andourinternationalcompetitorsaregettingthe
jobdone.
TheValidationCommitteerecentlyreviewedthecritiquesoftheStandards;23of24members
whoinitiallyvalidatedtheStandardssignedaletterdatedMarch5,2015andsenttoyour
CommissiononFriday(availableattheCollaborativeforStudentSuccess,through
chris@forstudentsuccess.org)toendorsetheprocessofStandardscreation,andtheStandards
qualityinrelationtothoseofothercountries.IearnestlyurgethisCommissiontoendorsethe
CCSSStandardsandletourstudentsshareinthebenefitsofimprovingthelearningof
mathematicsacrossthegreatStateofNorthCarolina.