Math that matters

MANILA, Philippines - In the information age, math is considered a critical skill, but it remains one of the most challenging subjects for students.

In the National Achievement Test administered by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Mean Percentage Result in 2009 rates private schools at 66.33 percent and public schools at 52.47 percent, both a long way from the passing rate of 75 percent. Moreover, in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted in 50 countries, the Philippines ranked at the bottom third in 1999 and 2003.

Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media, aims to address the grim situation of Math achievement in the Philippines. Following the success of its Assessment and Enrichment Program for Reading (AEP-Reading), Scholastic introduces a similar program for math.

“We’ve had much success applying a scientific principle to match books with readers, with over 50,000 students enrolled in the program,” reveals Frank Wong, president of Scholastic Asia. “We’re applying the same principle to math, to help kids acquire the skills they need, and make learning math a fun experience.”

 While the Philippines has been lagging in math achievement, neighboring country Singapore has been topping the TIMSS consistently, leading to interest in “Singapore Math.”

Scholastic educational consultant Hysper Lapid quotes international Math expert Yeap Ban Har on the secret of Singapore Math: “There is no ‘Singapore Math’ - it is just math taught properly.”

To augment math education in the Philippines, Scholastic pilots the Assessment and Enrichment Program for math (AEP-Math), a revolutionary supplementary program for the math curriculum from prep to 2nd year high school.

“AEP is the only holistic math enrichment program in the country. It is based on a program model proven to work, and it uses well-researched resources and systems developed by credible international institutions. It is also developed locally to fit the Philippine context,” states Roselle Masirag, Scholastic education and trade manager.

Through the AEP, students receive a healthy balance of explicit skills instruction in the five strands, and meaningful and practical experiences of math concepts through literature, games and projects. This engages the students in thinking about and applying math concepts and skills, and provides opportunities for students to communicate their ideas and justify their thinking.

“AEP aims to make Math fun for both teachers and students and establish it as a ‘thinking’ subject, rather than one based on procedure and rote memorization,” Lapid concludes. “Experiencing math concepts will help students build lifelong skills.”