NCSM Joint Position Papers

NCSM has collaborated with AMTE, ASSM, and NCTM to make joint public statements to help our members interpret important national documents that impact their work.

NCSM Joint Position Papers

Mathematics Education Organizations Unite to Support Implementation of Common Core State Standards
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The Role of Elementary Mathematics Specialists in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics
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Position, Research, and Opportunity (PRO) Statements

NCSM Improving Student Achievement Series

NCSM PRO Statements are designed to provide NCSM members with support regarding critical actions that lead to improved student achievement in mathematics. The papers are a product of the collaborative efforts of many individuals who offered their writing, editing and critiquing skills. These papers provide our members with answers to two questions:

  • What does NCSM believe about important issues in mathematics education leadership?
  • How is NCSM helping mathematics education leaders provide research-informed answers to the issues we face in our local district?

History

Upon receiving the Glenn Gilbert Award at the 2005 St. Louis Annual Conference, long-time NCSM member and past President (1993-1995), Carey Bolster challenged NCSM as an organization to "mind the gap" and step forward with a clear platform of direction to its membership. The Improving Student Achievement Series: Researched-Informed Answers for Mathematics Education Leaders was inspired by this challenge. The concept received unanimous approval from the NCSM Board as part of the NCSM's 2007-2008 annual strategic plan. In September 2007, the first two PRO Statements were released, coinciding with the launch of a year-long celebration of NCSM's 40th anniversary of leadership in mathematics education.

Permissions

NCSM grants permission to reprint these papers for distribution.

Inquiries

The NCSM Board hopes that you will find our positions, the research and literature that support them, and the practical steps you can take to implement each position, to be of use to you and your colleagues.

Please let us know your reaction to the NCSM PRO Statements. You may write directly to any of these NCSM representatives:

Position, Research, and Opportunity (PRO) Statements

Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Systematically Integrating Effective Technology
(Spring 2011)

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 Today's world makes a burgeoning array of technologies available to classrooms, ranging from graphing calculators to computers and electronic whiteboards. This paper provides the latest information from research and experience to guide teachers and leaders in the strategic use of technology in the classroom.
Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Promoting Positive Self-Beliefs
(Spring 2010)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper highlights the critical importance of developing and nurturing positive self-beliefs. Educators who establish a classroom climate that promotes positive self-beliefs about intelligence and academic ability increase students' motivation and engagement. The process of promoting positive self-beliefs begins with teachers believing that all students can learn meaningful mathematics.
Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners
(Fall 2009)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper offers clear insights and action steps necessary to support the needs of ELL students. This paper is the sixth in a series that provides information, research and action steps to support our membership and education leaders in mathematics as they work to improve student achievement.
Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Leading Highly Effective Assessment Practices
(Spring 2009)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper emphasizes the need to balance assessment-for-learning with assessment-of-learning. Adult collaboration that clarifies what students should learn, how their learning will be assessed and what the evidence of learning reveals, occurs frequently and regularly in order to promote equity and reduce bias.
Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics for Students with Special Needs
(Winter 2008)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper provides direction for meeting the needs of students with special needs through strategic customization of instruction and assessment and through collaboration among those with content expertise and special education expertise.
Improving Student Achievement by Leading the Pursuit of a Vision for Equity
(Spring 2008)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper provides direction for systematically addressing equity in student achievement by reframing the inequity perspective of "achievement gap" to an "opportunity gap" (Flores, 2007) and by promoting the effective use of professional learning communities to impact adult and student development in mathematics.
Improving Student Achievement by Leading Sustained Professional Learning* for Mathematics Content and Pedagogical Knowledge Development
(September 2007)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper provides direction for creating ongoing context-based adult learning (or professional development) for the express purpose of impacting student learning.

* In the words of Michael Fullan (2007): "Professional development as a term and as a strategy has run its course. The future of improvement, indeed of the profession itself, depends on a radical shift in how we conceive [teacher] learning".
Improving Student Achievement by Leading Effective Collaborative Teams of Mathematics Teachers
(September 2007)

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Listen to this PRO Statement 		This paper provides direction for the elimination of inequities often caused by the privatization of teacher practice. The paper establishes the necessity for the use of high-performing grade level and course-level teacher teams.

Contact NCSM at or (303) 758-9611 for further information.