Guest Editorial ... In Pursuit of a Focused and Coherent School Mathematics Curriculum Tad

Most, if not all, readers are familiar with the criticism of a typical U.S. mathematics curriculum being “a mile wide and an inch deep” (Schmidt, McKnight, & Raizen, 1997). A recent analysis by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (Reys, Dingman, Sutter, & Teuscher, 2005) reaffirms the crowdedness of most state mathematics standards. However, criticism of U.S. mathematics curricula is nothing new. In April 2006, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) released Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence. This document is an attempt by NCTM to initiate a discussion on what mathematical ideas are important enough to be considered as “focal points” at a particular grade level. But why is it so difficult to have a focused and cohesive school mathematics curriculum? Besides, what makes a curriculum focused and cohesive? In this paper, I would like to offer my opinions on what a focused and cohesive mathematics curriculum may look like and discuss some obstacles for producing such a curriculum.