Title: Scaling the Math Achievement Ladder
Authors: Bernadette B. Jackson, B.A. and Brenda B. Buckley, PH.D.
ISBN: 978-1-63812-587-7
Publisher: Pen Culture Solutions
Pages: 136
Genre: Non-Fiction / Education
Reviewer: Patricia Mendelson

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Scaling the Math Achievement Ladder by author Bernadette B. Jackson and Brenda B. Buckley is a credible piece of nonfiction which brings to light the pivotal need for development in mathematical education. As Jackson and Buckley have addressed this book for the US audience, this book portrays the necessity to improve American education in the field of mathematics, thereby leading to an increase in student achievements in mathematics.

The book begins with the idea of inspiring classroom teachers who seek to improve their students’ learning environment. The authors understand teachers are the foundation of any educational process, and the book spins around the perspective wherein such clear-headed teachers take the reins and make parents, politicians, and school boards understand the most paramount part of learning occurs as a result of the relationship between teachers and students.

The book effectively blends politics and education to help readers understand the effect politicians have on students’ education. Authors Jackson and Buckley highlight the materialistic qualities of politicians, which eventually ended up misdirecting the American government’s limited financial resources to strategies that barely impacted the actual learning process. They discuss how these egotistic urges of politicians and many such political factors were the causative agents for the failure of American education for years.

The authors emphasize their book is not a “scholarly summary of educational research” but a comprehensive approach to improving the educational process. They organize their findings into intricate chapters and provide a better platform to understand this complex problem more efficiently. They have painted the resonating events which caused the decline of student achievements in American education in the field of mathematics, addressed the main effects of politics on the education system, and have cleverly introduced a method called CRCS (Cumulative Reinforcement of Concepts and Skills) model as an emerging solution to the aforementioned problems. This CRCS model is a mathematics instructional strategy experimented on by teachers and the authors of this book to improve student achievements in the area of mathematics in America.

The authors have expertly woven this impressive non-fiction, which puts together their combined teaching experience in mathematics that has lasted longer than forty years. Through this book, they attempt to proffer students with ways to improve their mathematical skills and inherently enjoy their climb to the top. Jackson and Buckley’s simple diction, intricate chapters, historical overview of the failure of American education, and futuristic notions to amend the drawbacks of such an educational process make their book even more informative and interesting.

This book is highly recommended if you love reading about the developments of American education, especially in the field of mathematics.