TEXAS 8th STATE TO ADOPT SRA MATH CURRICULUM DEVELOPED TO HELP STUDENTS MAKE SMART DECISIONS IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE

COLUMBUS - The Texas State Board of Education has announced the adoption of SRA's Math Explorations and Applications program for grades K-6, joining North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Virginia, Utah and Idaho as states that have approved the curriculum for the upcoming 1999-2000 school year.

"We're very excited about this adoption. Texas is the largest state to choose our program," said Rick Rikhoff, Math marketing manager for SRA. "This program has several very unique aspects that change the way students think about math."

Now through March, teachers and curriculum directors for Texas' 1060 school districts will be able to review the teaching materials for the SRA program at more than 100 presentations throughout the state.

Math Explorations and Applications was written by a team of four authors who have been collaborating on the subject and field testing the curriculum for more than 25 years. Early elements of the series were published by Open Court Publishing Company under the title Open Court - Real Math.

The authors of Math Explorations and Applications are: Dr. Stephen S. Willoughby, past president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; Dr. Carl Bereiter, a cognitive psychologist; Dr. Peter Hilton, a code breaker for British troops in WWII; and Dr. Joseph H. Rubinstein, a biologist and chairperson of the Education Department at Coker College in South Carolina.

"There are four truly unique aspects to this curriculum," explained Rikhoff.

• The content, from grades K-6 uses an integrated approach and groups items such as fractions, decimals, time, and money together. For instance, second graders will learn ¼, .25, 15 minutes and 25 cents all together so they can use the information interchangeably as adults do in daily activities.

• The program is aggressive at introducing broad concepts very early. Kindergartners will learn basic function structure to be ready for algebra in Grade 6.

• The program continually reviews concepts learned in earlier grades in a "spiral" approach, which assists students and teachers preparing for proficiency testing.

• Problem solving strategy stresses using all available tools (estimating, working backward, using a graph, etc.), not following a standard four or five-step approach used in other curricula.

• "We want the students to 'Think mathematically,' and to apply the tools they need to solve problems," said Rikhoff. "We think this conceptual problem solving approach translates to all subjects for students."
  With extensive and intelligent use of games and manipulatives, this is a fun program that delivers serious results, including higher test scores. SRA worked with Texas officials to assure the curriculum matched the goals of the state's annual Texas Assessment of Academic Skills proficiency testing given at every grade level.
  SRA's Math Explorations and Applications is available in English and Spanish.
  SRA/McGraw Hill is a core and supplementary publisher of curriculum materials for kindergarten through Grade 8. In addition to materials for math, SRA/McGraw-Hill publishes a wide array of reading, language arts, early childhood, direct instruction, science, social studies, multi-media, fine arts and test-preparation programs.
  SRA is well known for its reading labs used by more than 127 million students worldwide. Additional product information and classroom activities supported by SRA are available on the website www.sra4kids.com.