Brief History of The Controversy Surrounding Everyday Mathematics
Everyday Mathematics curriculum was developed by the University of Chicago Project (or UCSMP ) which was founded in 1983.
Work on it started in the summer of 1985. The 1st edition was released in 1998 and the 2nd in 2002. A third edition was released in 2007.
Almost as soon as the first edition was released, it became part of a nationwide controversy over reform mathematics. In October 1999, US Department of Education issued a report labeling Everyday Mathematics one of five "promising" new math programs. The perceived endorsement of Everyday Mathematics and a number of other textbooks by an agency of the US government caused such outrage among practicing mathematicians and scientists that a group of them drafted an open letter to then Secretary of Education Richard Riley urging him to withdraw the report. The letter appeared in the November 18, 1999 edition of the Post and was eventually signed by over two hundred prominent mathematicians and scientists including four Nobel Laureates (one of whom, Steven Chu, has since become Secretary of Energy), three Fields Medalists, a National Medal of Science winner from the University of Chicago, and the some chairs of math departments.
The debate has continued at the state and local level as school districts across the country consider the adoption of Everyday Math. Two states where the controversy has attracted national attention are California and Texas. California has one of the most rigorous textbook adoption processes and in January 2001 rejected Everyday Mathematics for failing to meet state content standards. Everyday Math stayed off the California textbook lists until 2007 when the publisher released a California version of the 3rd edition that is supplemented with more traditional arithmetic, reigniting debate at the local level. In late 2007, the Texas State Board of Education took the unusual step of rejecting the 3rd edition of Everyday Math after earlier editions had been in use in more than 70 districts across the state. The fact that they singled out Everyday Math while approving all 162 other books and educational materials raised questions about the board's legal powers. The state of Texas dropped Everyday Mathematics, saying it was leaving public school graduates unprepared for college.
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