• What Teachers Say…

  • Sue, Colorado
    I feel that students are becoming stronger math students by using CPM textbooks. They have a better understanding of the concepts behind the mathematics rather than just plugging numbers into formulas and trying to cookie cut ever problem into similar type problems.
  • It is great to see the "ah ha" moments on their faces as we solve problems. It is also great to hear them say, "Oh, I totally get this…it totally makes sense. I love this stuff. I actually like math now."
  • I love guiding the questions to make students go back and really look at the math involved in the problem and how they can successfully solve a pretty tough "big problem."
  • Cynthia, Wisconsin
    When I taught with a traditional book, my students would not even try a problem unless I showed them how to do a problem just like the one they were going to get for homework. Now, with CPM I can give any problem to students and they will always try to work through it, whether it is a problem that they have seen before or a completely new concept. It can be a team problem or individual problem and they will always try to solve it. They usually have a great idea about how to start or even solve the whole problem. The students continually open my eyes to the number of techniques they use to solve problem.
  • Roy, Colorado
    With CPM my students are involved in the lessons and willing to work for the full class period. Even though they sometimes complain that "this math makes my head hurt," they continue to work on the math and make significant gains. After the first year of implementing CPM Algebra and Geometry, our school's state test scores (CSAP) rose 6 % (which is significant jump for schools in CO).
  • Seth, South Dakota
    When I started my teaching career, I was very traditional. Students sat in rows, I lectured for 40 minutes every day, and problems had to be done using the methods I outlined. When the nearby school district began using the CPM materials, I made as much noise as possible in the community against the program. Two years later when I took a job in the district I had no intention of using the materials, even though my principal indicated during my interview that it was the mandate. I attended the teacher training with a chip on my shoulder and a closed mind.
  • My attitude changed after the first math problem was posed to the participants. I raced to solve it as fast as I could using all of the traditional algorithms that I'd learned in high school. I was shocked when the person next to me finished first by drawing a picture and using the "guess and check" problem solving strategy! From that moment on, I realized that using alternate methods can actually improve student accuracy and efficiency. I now make as much noise as possible in the community FOR the program.
  • Likewise, my students are much more receptive to learning math. A student in my Informal Geometry class made the following comment: "I'm so glad this book teaches us the math first and the shortcut later. I remember things so much better." Another Informal Geometry student was repeating the class for a third time and told the class, "I wish we'd used these materials the first time I took this course!"
  • Astrida, Pennsylvania
    I have used CPM in the classroom for seven years now. The change in understanding and knowledge that my students have of mathematics using CPM is remarkable. My students are thinking and understanding math, not just doing math procedures.
  • My students have the ability to apply their knowledge and understanding with great ease. When given a problem, the students have no difficulty figuring out the process needed to solve it. They are capable of answering different types of problems without hesitation.
  • Just this year, when we were about half way through the school year, one of my students said "The difficulty of the equations that we are solving is so much more complex than we did at the beginning of the year and I never realized that the equations were getting harder!" The students do not realize that the curriculum is getting harder. The program is written so carefully that the students are challenged more with each problem, but it is done so carefully that the students just do it and not realize what they are doing.
  • We have also had many teachers from other districts come to our school to observe what we are doing, because our scores have gone up so much. As I talk to the teachers after the observations, they are amazed at the depth of understanding and the difficulty of the problem that my students can do.'
  • Jeanette, Nebraska
    As a middle school teacher of 23 years, I have spent many hours searching for rich mathematical problems with multiple solutions or multiple pathways to the solution. This type of problem is embedded in the lessons in the CPM curriculum. My students have grown not only in their problem solving skills but also in their ability to persevere and work through complex problems. My students look forward to presenting their solutions to their classmates. It is amazing and satisfying to watch learning take place as students question each other, test and justify their conclusions. You can "see" the light bulbs turn on!
  • Kelly, Colorado
    It is so wonderful to be able to step back and listen to my math classroom and hear all of the "math talk." Students become very passionate about their method of solving a problem a specific way. The students are defending their method and are proving why their method works. It is GREAT to hear these conversations on a daily basis. It is gratifying to hear students who used to struggle with math say, "Missy, that was easy…I can't believe I understand (the math). I've never been good at math."
  • Gar, Wyoming
    I have been a math educator for over 14 years. I was hired as a math instructional coach to help math teachers improve their instruction. The same year I was hired the district started implementation of the CPM math courses. I can still remember the day I was sitting in a class observing a teacher as he was teaching a lesson about completing the square. For the first time in my life I understood what completing the square really meant. I could always do the process but now had the understanding of what I was really doing. Time and time again while using this curriculum I have gained understanding of why the math procedures I can do and have taught students to do work. It is no longer a mystery; now I understand why. Understanding is what is really important, not doing skills and procedures.
  • Sarah, California
    I was taught math in high school using CPM and those experiences are why I chose teaching as a career. I remember being in college and being able to explain the "why" a concept works while other students were trying to memorize material. CPM built a pathway in my mind that I was able to access because I had a deeper understanding of the ideas and how they fit together. Now I am able to share the program with my students.
  • I now see the same results with my students. They don't just know the Pythagorean theorem, they know why it works and where it comes from. The discovery and applications of the ideas are things that stay with the students for future math classes. There is a connection that allows students to apply the new ideas over and over. CPM is not only teaching math; it is teaching problem solving skills for all parts of life.
  • Linda, Colorado
    I have just completed observing a CPM Algebra Connections classroom. The particular lesson that I thought was amazing occurred at the end of Chapter 4 (4.2.4). It was a summary of slope, intercepts, and graphing done through contextual problems. The students worked in well-managed, self-directed study teams facilitated by an instructor using superior questioning techniques. The critical thinking skills these students showed were incredible. During their large group share-out, I heard two to three alternative approaches for each problem that the students explained to their peers. As volunteers spoke, the rest of the class interspersed comments like: "That was sure a more efficient strategy than mine." "How can you justify that your answer really makes sense?" "My strategy was similar to yours except when I got to this point." I never once heard, "We haven't seen a problem like this. How would you start it?"
  • This seems like problem-solving to the "nth" degree to me. The alternative solutions show deep conceptual understanding. The math discourse, intelligent analysis and critiquing the students were doing via their comments demonstrates the deep thinking taking place during class. This classroom is certainly an example of student perseverance that we have long lacked in math classrooms.
  • Sharon, South Dakota
    Two of my students this year told me that they never knew math could be this much fun. They both were excellent, bright and gifted mathematicians. I love being able to present them the opportunity to think about math differently. The multiple strategies that students can use to solve problems are very powerful. Students who learn that mathematics is interesting are much more likely to study it in college.
  • Lois, Texas
    This is the first year for the CPM program in our school. I am seeing student results and hearing comments that I have never seen or heard in my 35 years of teaching. For example, when I was introducing arithmetic sequences, a student automatically volunteered that a sequence was linear. It automatically followed that geometric sequences were exponential. With other programs these connections were rarely made. I had to include a specific lesson to get the correlation. This is typical of concept correlations that were made by students throughout the year. One student in my Pre-Calculus class said that he really liked the book and wanted to purchase one. He said that this is how he can learn math. That has never happened before!
  • Julie, South Dakota
    When Inverness evaluators came to my school to evaluate the effect a grant had had on math teaching in our district, the evaluators were impressed by the level of interaction among the students. They interviewed random students to see what the students thought about CPM and the inquiry approach. Almost all of the responses were positive. One student said that although his grade was not as good as it had been the previous year, he understood the math for the first time. He was very enthusiastic about his experience and did not want to go back to traditional instruction.
  • Virginia, Texas
    For years students would say to me, "When are we ever gonna use this stuff?", and in a CPM classroom, I never hear this any more. Lessons are built around applications rather than drill. These are activities that stick with students, and help develop understanding.
  • It is never necessary for me to find "supplemental" practice materials. I keep in mind that "mastery takes time," and if students "don't get it" the first time, spaced practice brings it back. This reoccuring exposure helps the student develop a conceptual understanding.
  • The opportunity to talk about problems during team tests has been exciting for students. The talk is about mathematics, and hearing students talk and explain to each other reinforces their learning.
  • Creating their own toolkits/learning logs has been a good way for students to organize their learning. The fact that these study notes can be used on a test helps solidify their learning and removes the "fear" of not remembering pieces of information. Once their level of confidence and mastery with the mathematics grows, it is refreshing to see students wean themselves from the tool kit.
  • Catherine, Wisconsin
    I would describe the CPM curriculum as simply "refreshing." I have just finished my 20th year of teaching, and my first year of teaching Geometry Connections. As I prepared for my geometry classes, I was often amazed at the approach CPM used for concepts. For example, in my traditional geometry classes, students would memorize the distance formula, and do problems mindlessly. Now with CPM, students use a right triangle with the Pythagorean theorem. It makes sense to them.
  • Pam, Colorado
    In my 23rd year of teaching mathematics, our school district adopted the CPM curriculum. It was the first time I ever "heard" my students' thought processes!!
  • Brian, Wisconsin
    Our school district is a small, low-income district. A few years ago, our math scores were really low and we felt a lot of pressure. We adopted Everyday Math in Elementary school and CPM's Foundations for Algebra 1 and 2 in the middle school. This last school year (2008-2009), our 7th grade was at more than 90% advanced/proficient and our 8th grade was more than 80% advanced/proficient on the state test. Much of our success is due to being somewhat seamless and having curriculum that spirals and offers plenty of practice mixed with investigations. CPM offers our students a great chance to work daily in a format similar to the state test and retain their math skills through spaced practice and revisiting topics in other contexts.
  • Darrell, Oregon
    I taught mathematics using traditional texts for 19 years before I saw a sample of CPM. It was the curriculum I had been looking for. Many in my department were frustrated with the lack of problem solving ability of our students at all levels of math using traditional books, especially with our upper level pre-calculus and calculus students. While they could manipulate the problems well enough, they did not understand the underlying concepts and could not solve many basic applications. CPM has changed all of that while reenergizing the teachers. Most of the lessons are designed with problem solving as a central part of them. Student math confidence has increased. The number of students at all levels of mathematics in the high school has increased while failure rates have decreased. Students develop the ability to think through problems. After the first year of implementation, our testing coordinator said to me that students were no longer just guessing on questions they were not sure of but actually taking extra time to reason their way through them. That first year our state test scores jumped 14% and have increased every year from 2005-2009.
  • A secondary benefit of the Connections series is that it makes the math accessible to all students, which allowed us to eliminate our pre-algebra course. All incoming students start with the Algebra Connections course or higher. We have also been able to eliminate our multiple level courses. Before CPM we needed three courses for Geometry and two for Algebra 2. We now just have one at every level and have reduced failure rates at all levels.
  • Shelley, Oregon
    When telling a student that I was attending a conference for CPM, her response was:
    Mrs. L, please make sure to tell them that I failed Geometry last year but with our new books, I understand much better and have a high B. – Courtney
  • In my career, I have taught from 4 different geometry series. Until I started teaching with CPM, I was high skeptical that my students truly understood the material. When our district adopted CPM, I was unhappy, since I was "comfortable" using our previous book. Then I decided to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem and give it a try. Now I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't enthusiastic from the beginning. It has been the very best thing I have ever done in my classroom. Students need to not only learn to go through unconnected steps but to truly understand the ideas and how they are connected. To hear things like, "That is so cool", "I so get it; it totally makes sense to me!" "I finally understand something in math!" and "Why haven't we been using this all along?" convinces me that my students are engaged and being successful.
  • Having students work in study teams is valuable beyond the math. Yes, they will learn from each other and further their understanding of math, but they are learning life skills that their future employer will be looking for. Students are learning to communicate mathematically but also to work cooperatively as a team, with each of them fulfilling their roles to be successful. They are learning to deal with others with perhaps different personalities, strengths and weaknesses and learning to appreciate those differences.
  • Bruce, Wisconsin
    CPM requires students to be actively involved in learning. They do not just sit and take notes while the teacher does the problems. Teachers need to circulate among the student study teams to ask good questions to provoke thought and to assess what the students know. Now that I have used CPM for four years, we see more students taking more math courses at the high school level.
  • Lorna, Wisconsin (Presidential awardee, NBCT, Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow)
    I love to learn. In my 19 years of teaching I have attended every kind of professional development there is, and CPM is hands down the best professional development I have ever attended.
  • Mark, Wisconsin
    The CPM program helps students see multiple ways of solving the same problem so they have a broad array of strategies for solving mathematics problems. This also helps students feel confident that they can solve challenging problems.
  • John, Wisconsin (science teacher)
    I feel that when students have to explain themselves mathematically it helps them transition to becoming more independent learners in science. Because of CPM, I no longer teach math to my physics students, I simply review some ideas. I only wish that someone would start rewriting science texts with the same philosophy that the CPM folks have integrated into their materials.
  • Suzi, Wisconsin
    We have students who have taken our traditional honors course sequence (algebra, geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus) and students who have taken the same subjects using the CPM curriculum together in one AP Calculus class. The skills of the non-honors CPM students are not only competitive with those of the honor students but often the CPM students are more confident when applying their skills to new situations.

  • What Administrators Say…

  • Travis, Wisconsin (Math coordinator)
    One of the main things I've heard from the teachers is that the structure of the lessons gives them the ability to quickly identify how individuals, small groups and the entire class are doing during a lesson. As a result the teachers are able to interact with students or facilitate activities to provide immediate responses. Students are less likely to fall through the cracks and students continue to progress at a productive pace."
  • Julie, Wisconsin (Assistant principal)
    Students are organized into study teams and work on problem-based applications, team strategies and real-world applications. Many algebra teachers feel reenergized and are having more fun teaching math with the CPM approach. Algebra classes focus on both basic skills and problem solving strategies that are used to help students relate to and understand the concepts behind the problems. Our students are being taught Algebra in a more rigorous and relevant manner. It's really about discovering the math, rather than being told the math.
  • Peter, Wisconsin (Director of curriculum and instruction)
    We are already seeing the benefits of the program (after 3 years). Students seem to be better prepared for higher level math courses and stronger results are showing up on various standardized tests.

  • What Parents Say…

  • Having the chance to talk about the math with other students in her study team has been valuable for my daughter. This helps her see other students' struggles and how they think about the ideas. It helps reinforce her own skills as she explains her work out loud to others."
  • My daughter has always struggled with mathematics. But with CPM she began to like math and really understands what she is learning. All of the hands-on learning tools, like the Algebra tiles, have really helped her to finally succeed in math class.

  • What Students Say…

  • Senior (4th year of CPM)
    It's harder to work through the problem than being given the answer. But when I was looking at my required college curriculum, I realized that this work helped me prepare better for college. You understand the methods for solving the problem, instead of a teacher handing you the formula. You understand why it works that way.
  • Junior (3rd year of CPM)
    I like the math notes boxes so I can see examples. I also like the closure activities where I can check my own work and find examples if I don't understand something."
  • Freshman (2nd year of CPM)
    I like that the homework is both "review and preview" because I know I will be able to do it on my own at home. I also know that my teammates in class can work together to understand something new that we are learning.