Making Math Count

"Students who struggle with arithmetic often lose out on the chance to see patterns in math. Before we had graphing calculators, students had to correctly calculate values for several points then graph them on paper and see the graph shape. Finding the shape of the graph and being able to make predictions from that shape were distant goals lost in the tedium of calculation. Students who were poor at computation simply gave up.

More and more we are reminded math is not computation. The new Common Core curriculum (that states including Michigan are working to implement) emphasizes thinking over computation. People in the modern workplace making tedious computations rely on computers and calculators, and our schooling should reflect the technology of society. Our textbooks include the use of these technologies as an expected part of the coursework.

When our students take external exams (the ACT, MME), they’re allowed to use the graphing calculator which is in fact a small computer. While the testing companies emphasize that the test can be taken without a calculator, students are assessed according to percentile rank.

Students with a graphing calculator who know how to use it have been shown to improve their scores over students who do not have such a device.

Because we have the calculators from SAF, our students are able to learn how to use it as a computational device and then go on to see patterns and make predictions. By providing calculators that students can borrow to complete homework and for taking tests outside of school, the SAF helps put our students on equal footing with those whose families have the $100 needed to purchase one for them. When our students go on to college, they are prepared to use graphing calculator technology in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) classes."

-Louise Wilson, GRPS math teacher