Singapore Math

Why use Singapore Math? The driving force behind the Singapore approach is the world leading math test scores by students from Singapore. In the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Singapore ranked number 1 followed by South Korea and Hong Kong.

Singapore emphasizes thinking skills. Singapore teachers spend more time helping students to think through and verbally discuss each component of the concept. Singapore Math avoids reliance on memorized formulas and algorithms so there is not as much emphasis on repetitive practice exercises. Instead, Singapore strives to give students an understanding of math concepts by walking students through each component of a problem, and then presenting them with the whole problem to solve. This way, students are trained to think actively as they work through each step of a problem instead of plugging the problem into a formula.

Singapore math is less structured than traditional American math curriculums. This can make it more challenging for teachers in the United States to teach math with the Singapore approach. It is different from the way most U.S. teachers learned math. Singapore Math is less structured. Singapore Math can also be more challenging for older students who are already familiar with the approach used by more structured math curriculums.