Poorly Trained Math Teachers in the U.S.

A math study was analyzed by the New York Times today. The study included 3,300 future math teachers at 81 colleges and universities in the United States who were given a 90-minute test covering their knowledge of math concepts as well as their understanding of how to teach the subject and were compared to their counterparts in other 15 developed and undeveloped countries. 

The study reveals that America’s middle school mathematics teacher preparation is not up to the task, is attributed to be said by William H. Schmidt, the Michigan State University professor who is its lead author. 

The study shows a problem in the background of elementary math teachers, but its aim to force learning of linear algebra and calculus among middle school math educators goes beyond career expectancy.

The following were the results found in the study, applied to elementary and middle school math teachers: "On the elementary test, students from Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan scored far above their counterparts in the United States. Students from Germany, Norway, the Russian Federation, and Thailand, scored about the same as the Americans, and students from Botswana, Chile, Georgia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, and Spain scored well below, the report said. 

On the middle school test, American students outscored students in Botswana, Chile, Georgia, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, the Philippines, and Thailand, the study found."