Diane Ravitch examines U.S. performance on TIMSS and remarks that “NCLB is having only a small positive impact on mathematics achievement, despite the massive investment in testing, test preparation and “remedies” for low performance.”One promising state is Minnesota; the state “adopted a coherent, focused, grade-by-grade math curriculum developed by a team of Michigan State University scholars and led by Professor William Schmidt. Minnesota competed in the TIMSS study and saw its scores jump from mediocre to world-class.”
Common Core thinks other states should examine what Minnesota is doing right and explore how to replicate their success.
In addition to serving as Co-Chair for Common Core’s Board of Directors, Diane Ravitch is a member of the Koret Task Force at the Hoover Institution, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a research professor at New York University.