No Further Appeal

Many thanks to those who have supported us in this effort. Below is our statement on deciding not to appeal:

NO APPEAL FOR DISCOVERING MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOK RULING

We scored a stunning victory against the Seattle School Board on February 4, 2010, when Judge Julie Spector ruled the Board's math text decision “arbitrary and capricious." We will not appeal the March 28th,2011 reversal of that ruling by a three judge panel.

Judge Spector's original ruling, carefully and courageously taken, put a spotlight on the poor quality of decision making in the Seattle School District, and its impact on our students' math success. Since the adoption of the Discovering texts, Seattle 10th graders' math scores have continued to decline, especially among minorities, making it clear that her appraisal, and our lawsuit, were based on real evidence. The message in Judge Spector's ruling is that the school board based its decision on pressure from administration, rather than evidence.

The tragedy of this particular wrong decision is that the Discovering texts are confusing and do not enhance solid, useful skill development in algebra and geometry. Psychologists now acknowledge that “secondary,” conceptual knowledge, such as math skills, cannot be learned efficiently by the trial and error practices utilized in these texts. This kind of knowledge and skill is generally acquired through a combination of examples, guided practice, independent practice, and mental effort. Our students are being failed by a curriculum that leaves them discouraged and unable to do simple computations, much less master algebra and succeed in college level mathematics-based courses.

We were extremely heartened by Judge Spector's extraordinary courage and integrity: She challenged the School Board and the district establishment by determining that the evidence did not support the adoption of the Discovering math texts. We were further inspired by the outpouring of support from individuals all across the country and the personal stories we heard from families adversely affected by Seattle’s poor textbook choices. We hope that the increased public awareness aroused by our lawsuit will hasten the correction of this terribly mistaken adoption, as others across the district join us in advocating for significant improvement in math curriculum.

Our resources do not permit us to pursue this lawsuit against the deep pockets of the district. At this time, the urgent task at hand is to elect knowledgeable individuals, willing to intelligently apply relevant data to improving the system, to replace four school board members who have repeatedly failed to make decisions derived from evidence: Sherry Carr, Harium Martin-Morris, Peter Maier, and Steve Sundquist.

Martha McLaren, DaZanne Porter, Cliff Mass