Article content continued

Discovery math, which is also called “inquiry based math,” focuses on problem solving, estimation and real-world applications rather than “math facts” and memorization. Under the old curriculum, students relied on memory to solve simple multiplication questions — a technique that allowed them to summon figures instantly when later moving on to more complicated equations. But now, each mathematical process is broken down, digested and re-digested with the intention of promoting greater understanding. In practice, however, it tends to just breed unnecessary confusion.

In a C.D. Howe Institute report from last year, University of Winnipeg professor Anna Stokke offered a good example of the tortuousness that is discovery math: “Students are often encouraged to work out number facts such as 7×8 using doubling,” she wrote. “8 is the double of 4 and 7×4 =28, so 7×8 = 28 + 28 = 56.” Everyone got that? This method could also be described as “How to make your nine-year old rip up her homework and leave the kitchen table in tears.”

If there were early hopes that discovery math would improve students’ grasp of the fundamentals, they have since been dashed by steadily declining test scores — both within Ontario and in provinces such as Manitoba and Alberta, which also adopted discovery math programs. In the 2013/2014 school year, for example, just 67 per cent of Grade 3 students scored at or above the provincial standard in the EQAO math test, down four percentage points from 2009/2010. Grade 6 students are doing worse, with only 54 per cent scoring at or above the provincial average in 2013/2014, down seven percentage points from 2009/2010. These trends made a whole lot of sense, considering the situation: if a student is left counting her fingers and toes to figure out 7 x 8 in Grade 3, there’s no way she’ll be able to multiply fractions in Grade 6.