Volume 24 Number 1
January 1985

John H. Trent, Robert A. Gilman, University of Nevada, Reno

IN 1982 THERE were approximately 3,000 Native American students in Nevada public schools (K-12), representing 2% of Nevada’s public school population. It was widely believed that, in keeping with national trends, these youngsters did not achieve as well in mathematics as their Caucasian counterparts. The following study was undertaken to discover if indeed this situation did exist in Nevada and, even more importantly, to explore possible reasons for and potential solutions to overcoming any discrepancies in achievement attributable to differences in cultural backgrounds.

A review of the literature reveals that there is a great deal of agreement that Indian students are significantly behind their white agemates in mathematics achievement. Fuchs and Havighurst (1972) summarized a number of studies which show that, in general, Indian pupils’ achievement is just below the national average during the first four years of school, after which it drops substantially. For example, Coleman (1966), whose study seems to be representative, found that math achievement of Indian students was 1. 8 grade levels behind white students in non-metropolitan areas in grade six, 2.1 grade levels behind in grade nine, and 3.0 grade levels behind by grade 12.

Cheek (1984b) also reported that the mathematical achievement levels of Native American students were very low in comparison with students of other ethnic groups. She found that in New Mexico on a tenth grade computation examination only 21 % of the Native American students scored 65 % or higher, while 72% of the white students scored at or above that level. Further, she noted that in the State of Washington in 1980 the average mathematics score for Native American students attending public schools was at the thirty-third percentile.

Brod (1979) reported that the California Achievement Test average mathematics percentile rank of Choctaw students attending four junior high schools in Mississippi in 1979 was 26.3 and that the average percentile rank of Choctaw 12th graders at that time was 18. 1.

Boudreaux (1980) stated that as many as 50 per cent of the Choctaw students need remedial instruction in mathematics as they enter high school. He further noted that while it is true that the percentage declines for that group that graduates, much of the decline can be accounted for by high dropout rates.

In order to determine whether Nevada students fell within the general trend, the mathematics achievement scores of white and Native American students on the Nevada Minimum Competency Test were compared. The data showed that during the 1980-1983 period a smaller percentage of Native Americans than whites attained a passing score of 75% on the Nevada Minimum Competency Arithmetic Test. (See Tables 1 and 2)

Much more difficult, however, than measuring low achievement is ascertaining the reasons for such lack of progress. There is, in fact, a wide range of speculation on the reasons for the solutions to the problem of lower math achievement among Native Americans. Fuchs and Havighurst (1972) attributed the lower scores to poverty, and they stated that family background and Indian parents’ lack of formal education are more influential factors in achievement than the school.

Boudreaux (1980) concluded that the learning of the Choctaw students in general was "hampered by the lack of basic skills," and that the solution, by default, lay in remediation.

A recent study by Scott (1983) has shown that on the College Qualifications Test, Anglos tended to score higher than Pueblos on the arithmetic items, while Pueblos tended to do better than Anglos on measurement items. He argues that the type of thinking involved may be the reason for the lower achievement among Indian students. He believes that this difference can be attributed to the fact that arithmetic is symbolic; it can be done without any reference to specific contexts. However, measurement items relate more to experiences in the real world, which is of great significance to Pueblo people. Scott’s suggestion for assisting Indian students to improve their command of mathematics is to devise specific techniques for relating skill development to real world situations.

TABLE 1
COMPETENCIES MEASURED BY NEVADA’S MINIMUM COMPETENCY ARITHMETIC TEST

TABLE 2
NEVADA MINIMUM COMPETENCY SCORES (1982)

Cheek (1984a) suggests that a culturally based approach in mathematics and science might be appropriate for pre-college Native American students. She recommends that researchers examine the process of developing mathematics curriculum and that approaches be identified that successfully integrate culture, occupations, and games with the mathematical needs of Native American students.

Wallis (1983), on the basis of extensive work with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota, ascribes differences in achievement to theories of brain dominance. She holds that American Indians are right-brain dominant, and that Anglos are left-brain dominant (that is, the former think artistically and holistically while the latter reason analytically). Thus she suggests individualizing instruction in arithmetic for Indian children by using a "rhythmic" methodology based on the child’s readiness for a given concept. In particular, she reports amazing results for elementary American Indian children learning with Mathematics, the Piaget Way developed by Herbert Lamppa and A. D. Hendrickson (1980). Students began with a national percentile rank of 17 in mathematics and a total composite of 35 on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and increased their percentile rank to 66 in math and to 69 for the composite score by using this method.

Luftig (1983) points out yet another possible explanation for lower achievement. He reasons that since self-concept has been shown to relate positively to school achievement and academic success among various groups of students, a more negative view of self-worth among Indian children than among Anglo children may account for the former’s lower achievement. In fact, his investigations lead to the conclusion that Indian self-concept diminishes as a function of age and years in school. For this reason, he believes that counseling is one solution to the problem; Native American children need experiences which will help them "to move successfully between cultures." He states that counselors need to 1) provide in-depth counseling to help relieve frustration and anxiety in Anglo school environments, and 2) encourage Indian children to compare themselves with other Native Americans rather than with the class as a whole.

Another reason for low achievement may be that the Indian students fail to enroll in mathematics courses in the first place. Green (1978) believes the most important factor in discouraging Native American students from enrolling is the prevalent attitude among teachers, counselors and administrators that mathematics competence is beyond and/or irrelevant to Indian needs. He concludes that many Native Americans are "counseled out" of mathematics for these reasons.

Taylor (1983) presents data on the racial composition of mathematics classes in Minneapolis for 1981. The figures show that even though Native Americans formed 5% of the secondary school population, the percentages of this ethnic group enrolled in mathematics classes were as follows: Geometry—1%, Algebra II-1%, Mathematical Analysis--1/2%, and Calculus—1%. Taylor feels that this under-representation of Native Americans is probably typical of mathematics enrollments in the United States. He recommends that the first step in correcting these inequities is the development of an awareness that the inequities indeed exist. He suggests that the second step is to assess patterns of participation and achievement. He further states that more must be done to provide Indian students with information about the importance of mathematics.

A considerable body of data support the conclusion that Native Americans are not obtaining a sufficient background for studying higher level mathematics courses in high school or for entering mathematics-related careers (Bradley, 1983).

In Nevada, several avenues were investigated in order to determine possible reasons for low math achievement. The areas explored included information about Native American career preference, availability of counseling services, and ethnic adequacy of math texts used.

Career preference information was obtained from a survey form sent to counselors and teachers of Indian schools in Northern Nevada and from student responses on the occupational preference section of the ACT. Low percentages of Native American students indicated preferences for careers in engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, and technological fields. For example, most male students saw themselves in fields requiring little skills in mathematics such as ranching, construction, and truck driving, and, similarly, a majority of female students expressed a clear preference for employment as health professional aides, secretaries, restaurant workers, and teachers. Of particular interest were the results of a sentence completion task administered to children in predominantly Indian elementary schools which agreed strongly with the responses given by the older students. As both boys and girls selected the same career fields as their older counterparts, the inference could be drawn that there may be a long-term lack of interest on the part of Native Americans in occupations which require an extensive knowledge of mathematics.

The finding that few Native Americans go on to college and that the majority of those who do are females may be another factor which helps explain low enrollments at the secondary level in Algebra I and more advanced courses. The responses to a survey conducted among counselors in Indian schools would seem to support these findings. The counselors perceived engineering, science, medicine, computer analysis, accounting, electronics, mathematics instruction, and economics to be occupations requiring three or more years of high school mathematics. Since low percentages of Native American females prefer these fields, one tentative conclusion that can be drawn is that the counselors may unwittingly be promoting low enrollments in "college bound" mathematics courses. The counselors felt, however, that they, with the cooperation of the teaching staff, could persuade more academically capable Native American students to take mathematics. They indicated that individualization of instruction and good teacher role models, in particular, might contribute to increasing interest in college preparatory courses in the field.

A follow-up study of 30 recent (1980-83) graduates of one high school for Native Americans provides some evidence of the potential value of the above suggestions. The principal of that school felt that he has a staff of sensitive counselors and teachers whose work with individual students has tended to promote interest in post-secondary education, including math related fields. In point of fact, the follow-up study of these graduates showed that 18 of the 30 either attended or planned to attend college (of the remaining 12, six were still at home, two had joined the Army, three were working on or near the reservation in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs, and one was deceased).

This finding points to the need for pre- and inservice courses that deal with multicultural education and individual learning styles.

Teachers’ attitudes towards their students were also quite revealing: teachers of general mathematics courses felt Native Americans would score low on minimum competency tests in contrast to teachers of college preparatory mathematics who felt the students were capable and studious. Teacher education is surely a partial solution to boosting mathematics programs, as are federal funds which have assisted in individualizing programs and have provided microcomputers which are helpful in remedial and basic mathematics learning.

In conclusion, although Native Americans in Nevada reflect a national trend by scoring lower than white students on minimum competency arithmetic tests, we feel, on the basis of our study, that this is not irreversible. Of course, we do not imply that there is a simple solution. Remediation, individualized instruction, increased awareness of cultural backgrounds, culturally unbiased texts, and occupational counseling accompanied by sensitivity on the part of the entire school staff are all essential if Nevadan Native American youngsters are to attain at least minimal competencies in mathematics (see Note 1).

Boudreaux, E. A minimum competency assessment. Journal of American Indian Education, 1980, 19(2), 8-12.

Bradley, C. The state of the art of Native American mathematics education. In H. H. Cheek (Ed.), Handbook for Conducting Equity Activities in Mathematics Education. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1983.

Brod, R.L. Choctaw Education. Box Elder, MT: LPS & Associates, 1979.

Cheek, H.N. A suggested research map for Native American education. Journal of American Indian Education, 1984b, 23, 1-9.

Cheek, H.N. Increasing the participation of Native Americans in mathematics. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 1984a, 15(2), 107-113.

Coleman, J.S., et at. Equity of educational opportunity. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1966.

Fuchs, E., and Havighurst, R.J. To live on this earth: American Indian education. New York: Doubleday, 1972.

Green, R., Brown, J.W., & Long, R. Report and recommendations: Conference on mathematics in American Indian education. Washington, D.C.: Educational Foundation of America & American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1978.

Lamppa, H., & Hendrickson, A.D. Mathematics, the Piaget way. 722 Capitol Square Bldg., St. Paul: Minnesota Council on Quality Education, 1980.

Luftig, R.L. Effects of schooling on the self-concept of Native American students. School Counselor, 1983, 30, 251-260.

Scott, P.B. Mathematics and achievement test scores of American and Anglo students: A comparison. Journal of American Indian Education, 1983, 22(3), 17-19.

Taylor, B.R. Equity in mathematics: a case study. The Mathematics Teacher, 1983, 76(l), 12-17.

Wallis, P. Holistic learning—a must with American Indian students. Momentum, 1983, 14(l), 40-42.

1. It is encouraging to note that two years after our study, perhaps in response to increasing attention to the above factors, the scores of Indian youngsters have indeed increased, as revealed by the results of the 1984 Nevada Minimum Competency Arithmetic Test (77% of the Native American high school students earned scores of 75% or above).