"[T]he standards* call for a mathematics curriculum more responsive to the needs of the twenty-first century than to the nineteenth century. These standards advocate a broader curriculum, adjusted in response to changing priorities, and changes in instructional practices, designed to meet the needs of a far greater portion of the student population. They call for a shift in emphasis from merely getting answers to exercises to finding and justifying solutions to problems. In addition, they recommend that mathematics be taught in ways that help students make sense of key ideas and concepts and in ways that promote communication, connections, and reasoning."

* Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, 1989; Professional Standards for Teaching, 1991; Assessment Standards, 1995, and Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, 2000.
(Leiwand, Sensible Mathematics: A Guidefor School Leaders, 2000)

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