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Texas drops 'fuzzy math' curriculum

The Texas State Board of Education is getting complaints from a liberal watchdog group over the board's rejection of so-called "fuzzy math" text books.



The controversy began when the Texas State Board of Education decided to revamp its third-grade math curriculum. Members of the board decided to drop the current math curriculum ("Everyday Math") because it encouraged students to use calculators instead of teaching general math concepts such as the multiplication table.

A liberal watchdog group, Texas Freedom Network, says rejection of the curriculum is unlawful and that the decision opens the door for the conservative board of education to drop the teaching of evolution.

But Terri Leo, a Texas State Board of Education representative, says the rules were strictly followed when the board decided to drop the so-called "fuzzy math" curriculum. She says the Texas Freedom Network's accusations are unfounded.

"There is no jump here -- we're talking about math," she points out. "Math is neither a Democrat or Republican issue; it's neither a conservative or liberal issue. Texas Freedom Network has a consistent stance on anything that conservatives will vote for or will not vote for. They have not spent the time or the hours reading one single math book."

Leo says the board came to the decision partly because of complaints from higher education institutes who claim new students are having a hard time doing basic math and algebra. The Texas decision has caused a stir elsewhere in the country as other school districts fear they may lose the "fuzzy math" curriculum because the Lone Star State usually sets the standard in this area.