Seattle School Board rejects math textbook recommendation

In a 4-3 vote, the Seattle School Board rejected the advice of a district-led committee in selecting new math textbooks for the district’s 27,000 elementary students, deciding instead to purchase a separate set of textbooks, KPLU reports. Schools nationally and across the state are implementing a set of new education standards called the Common Core Standards. In April, a district-led committee recommended the Seattle School Board purchase new textbooks, called enVision, which are more in line with the Common Core Standards and require students to use more writing when answering questions. But some community members say textbooks with more words won’t help English Language Learners, and instead recommended another set of textbooks called Math in Focus, which feature more visual components.Supporters of Math in Focus say the books will do a better job of closing the achievement gaps among students of different races and socioeconomic classes. "The Common Core has not yet gotten us there. Maybe it will," argued board president Sharon Peaslee. "But I think we can count on these textbooks,” she said in reference to Math in Focus. These textbooks do come with a higher price tag however, costing the district $6.9 million compared to $3 million for enVision. — M.L.