Gadfly Bites 6/16/25—Ice cream versus math

News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.

1. Fordham’s Aaron Churchill and Ohio Excels’ Lisa Gray provide excellent commentary on the pending state budget proposals to change the way math is taught in Ohio schools. Neither of them says “It’s about time, given the lowly math performance of recent years” but I got that vibe strongly anyway. Maybe it’s just an accepted fact now. (Dayton Daily News, 6/16/25)
   
   

2. If any of the above discussion reminded you of the ongoing effort to install the science of reading (SoR) in every public school in Ohio, you are paying proper attention because obviously what the legislature is attempting to create and implement here is “the science of math”, based upon the SoR model, which has been deemed pretty successful by most commentators and analysts. However, while this is not the worst idea ever, I am a little worried based on this piece that the teaching establishment may already be claiming a different version of “success” than SoR advocates were aiming for. The teachers interviewed here appear to be saying “mission accomplished” not because their students are learning and achieving at higher levels than before, but because teachers are. That is, the professional development piece of SoR “was giving them some reassurance that [teaching reading]’s not easy, but if you have a supportive environment like we do in Fairview Park, that’s a huge part of the equation,” according to one teacher from a leafy exurb near Cleveland. According to another, the SoR PD “let them know that teaching is not an easy job but it’s always worth it when we get to the end of the year and see how much growth has been made by our students. That’s just the cherry on top of everything we do.” Sorry to be a worry wort, but that sounds like folks who have done all they’re going to do in the process, and will be perfectly happy no matter what happens with student achievement if they end up with that cherry-less sundae. There’s clearly still plenty of fudge and whipped cream for them, no matter what. (Cleveland.com, 6/16/25)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.