RAND Mathematics Study Panel
2003
RAND's math study panel prepared this report for the federal Office of Educational Research and Improvement (now Institute for Education Sciences). In six chapters and 80 pages, it seeks to frame a wide-ranging, long-term math-education research agenda for Uncle Sam and other funders of such research. It claims to be "rooted in practice," to bridge (or circumvent) ideological debates about math education, and to be designed "to create basic knowledge about the learning of mathematics through multiple forms of empirical inquiry." The three domains proposed for immediate attention are developing teachers' knowledge of math, teaching algebra from kindergarten through high school, and teaching and learning "mathematical practices." The report goes on to frame an elaborate set of arrangements for a "partnership between government and the mathematics education research community." Though the panel that wrote it contains a bunch of eminent math educators (and some mathematicians) and though it claims to value "computation skills," those looking for a research agenda that will help ensure that young Americans really do learn their multiplication tables will not find much comfort here. For the most part, we're looking at a sophisticated research agenda based on NCTM assumptions about math education. The ISBN is 083303331X and you can see it online (or order a copy) by surfing to http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1643/.
