ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the possible equity consequences of the problem-solving-centered mathematics education reform movement led by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), sometimes known as reform mathematics, sometimes as the standards movement because of the central role of a series of NCTM standards documents. It also investigates first two definitions of equity: a limited definition implied by the No Child Left Behind Act and a more expansive one presented by Rochelle Gutierrez. Global capital and mathematics educators agreed that with the advent of cheap computing power such as computers and calculators, student proficiency with paper-and-pencil computations was no longer the be-all and end-all of mathematics education. Equity is one of the central principles of the standards movement. Most concretely, the movement proposes a single, high-level core curriculum for all students. As Mark Ellis and Robert Berry note, conflict is to be expected when an epistemological paradigm shift of this magnitude is under way.
