NEW YORK, April 22, 2015 -- The U.S. has a math problem and you can help. Operation Top 10, a movement started by two educators dedicated to raising the United States' current position of 30 in world math literacy to a top 10 position, is creating a new math app for grades 4-12 called +1Math (Plus One Math). The rich-media, gamified, fully-personalized program designed for math mastery will contain millions of questions and test variations. Its responsive design will perform on smart mobile phones, tablets and handheld computers as well as desktop.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1349033686/1-math-the-us-has-a-math-crisis-you-can-help
+1Math launched their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on April 21, 2015. Reaching +1Math's Kickstarter funding goal will help Operation Top 10 give the +1Math app away to 250,000 low-income students in 2016. The mission is distribution through a "pay it forward" plan that would give the +1Math app to at least 10 million low-income students and achieve a world top 10 position in math for the USA by 2025.
+1Math is the brainchild of Phillip Cohen and Elie Venezky, the founders of Prestige Prep (www.prestigeprep.com), a NYC tutoring center started in 2002. After years of noticing the extreme disconnect between students' mathematics performance in school versus their grades on standardized tests, Cohen and Venezky got busy. They set out to create a sustainable solution to the pervasive mathematics learning and performance anxiety that is plaguing U.S. schoolchildren and their worried parents alike.
The Cause of Math Anxiety and Failure among U.S. Students
"The issues start with how math curriculum in the U.S.A. is set up and taught," says +1Math app creator Elie Venezky. "U.S. students are learning math subjects in a bubble. They are not exposed to how the various math disciplines interplay on paper, and most importantly in daily work and life situations. Instead, they are given topic answers and methods upfront, and then tested with those answers. The result is a generation of kids who instead of building their own cognitive muscle, have come to rely on hand-holding through every course. This leads to poor standardized test scores and low self image," declares Venezky.
A $60 Yearly Subscription that can make a Lifelong Difference
+1Math was designed to provide the following:
+1Math is a Personalized Skill Building Tool that Meets Kids in the World they inhabit
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, associate professor in digital media and co-director of the Games+Learning+Society Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and former senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said recently:
"You create these communities around the game that do an incredible amount of intellectual work, and when they're done with the work, they will leave the game and go on to another game that's more challenging. Can you imagine if we had that kind of environment in classrooms?"
According to The Entertainment Software Association (www.theesa.com) 64% of parents believe electronic games are a positive force in their children's lives.
U.S. Students' Poor Showing on Standardized Tests is a Key Performance Indicator of the Strength of the Future U.S. Economy
In 2014, the National Assessment for Educational Progress, also known as "The Nation's Report Card," published findings based on a 2013 assessment that show that only 39% of U.S. 12th grade students scored above 163 on the mathematics scale, the score that reflects the baseline for college preparedness.
No Child Left Behind
"We want to see the +1Math program available to every student, regardless of income level," says Phil Cohen, co-founder of Prestige Prep NYC tutoring and co-creator of +1Math.
Cohen continues, "In 2016, our first year of release, we're targeting distribution to 250,000 low-income students -- but we aim to give +1Math free to over 10 million students in 10 years. We hope to work with a smartphone manufacturer and mobile communications service provider to help us distribute the program to those with no access to a computer or handheld device."
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.
Phil Cohen - ProfNet - http://www.profnetconnect.com/philcohen
Elie Venezky - ProfNet - http://www.profnetconnect.com/elievenezky
Related Links:
http://topics.vpoinc.com/events/Plus1Math.html
Video - http://youtu.be/b19h_w_WbXA
Video - http://youtu.be/c235L-kR7MY
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150422/200272
