A history of the "new math" movement in the United States

Abstract

<p>The development and spread of the "new math" programs of the 1960s had their roots in the revolution in mathematics in the nineteenth century, the progressive education movement, and World War II. In the years 1850-1950, the changes in mathematics gradually filtered down into the colleges. The first high school "new math" program was initiated in 1951 by the University of Illinois Committee on School Mathematics; The most influential "new math" program, covering grades K-12, was initiated by the School Mathematics Study Group, formed in 1958. By the mid-1960s, "new math" programs had been widely adopted at all grade levels;In the secondary schools, "new math" became the new status quo. In the elementary school, the "new math" programs were less successful, due to inadequate teacher training and the opposition of many mathematics educators in the progressive tradition. At all levels, the further development of "new math" programs ended with the 1960s, largely because the forces that brought the "new math" into being had ceased to exist.</p>