SACRAMENTO, CA - In a recent study, students from countries across the world outperformed American students in science and mathematics. In the Third International Math and Science Skills-Repeat (TIMSS-Repeat) study, the Japanese and also the Bulgarians were among the 18 nations that outperformed our students. More important, the study pointed to possible reasons for poor American performance.

Unlike many other countries, American math and science teachers were less likely to have a college degree in their teaching field. Research has shown that students perform better when taught by teachers who have a degree in their respective field.

Further, the TIMSS-Repeat study found that U.S. students used calculators more than their foreign peers. Also, they did less homework. Such findings may be significant given that other studies have shown that drill and practice on basic knowledge and skills result in higher student achievement. That means more homework and less reliance on crutches such as calculators.

Indeed, a September 2000 Brookings Institution study found that calculator use decreases student math achievement. Analyzing national test data, Brookings concluded that students who used calculators every day scored lower than students who used the devices less frequently. Given this finding, it is disturbing that Brookings also found that while only 27 percent of white students used calculators daily, half of African-American students made daily use of calculators.

Yet, despite such evidence, university schools of education, which place so much emphasis on the learning “process,” actively promote the use of calculators, devices that eliminate the process of learning math. For instance, a book on math teaching methods required at San Francisco State University tells future teachers that “there's no place for requiring students to practice tedious calculations that are more efficiently and accurately done by using calculators.” Although students, especially slower students, may never learn to do arithmetic by hand, that's okay, says the author, because “there must be a redefinition of what is really basic to mathematics.”

Many other books used by California schools of education make similar recommendations against traditional methods of memorization, drill and practice. In contrast, many highly-ranked countries emphasize traditional teaching methods. Take Singapore, which, according to the _TIMMS-Repeat_ study, ranks first in math achievement.

Singapore specifically limits the use of calculators. Memorization of basic math facts is emphasized as a way to make mental calculations easier and faster. While American schools give calculators to slower students, Singapore admonishes poorer-performing students to drill and practice more. Also, Singapore stresses teacher dissemination of knowledge rather than the American trend of letting students discover knowledge. And whereas many American educators believe that getting the correct answer should not be paramount, Singapore focuses on getting the right answer, in rapid time. Despite Singapore's success with traditional teaching methods, many American teachers are going in the opposite direction.

A recent Wall Street Journal article quoted one pro-calculator teacher who, disregarding the belief of her own students that using calculators was cheating, argued that, “It isn't [cheating] if it helps you.” However, the evidence shows that calculator use and other trendy teaching methods harm rather than help students. These failed methods end up cheating children out of the basic knowledge and skills they will need to succeed. That is both a fraud and a tragedy.

-Lance T. Izumi