Kumon, the world's largest provider of supplemental education in mathematics and reading, serves more than 2.8 million children throughout the world.
When the results of the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) were announced in 1999, it was clear that American students performed less than spectacularly. The US Secretary of Education at that time, Richard Riley, noted simply that we as a country "need to work harder and better." But his simple advice is not an easy prescription to fulfill.
Working harder and better may not be enough. The last decade has seen much hard work on the part of teachers and students trying to meet standards and score higher on standardized tests. At best, we have realized some incremental improvements. Developing national standards, seeking whole school reforms, and increasing professional development of staff have all had some measure of impact. But the pressure is on the system to bring about dramatic change in student achievement.
For administrators and teachers, the pressure for such change and, perhaps the solution, comes from parents, legislators, and critics. A recent report from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), entitled Extended Learning Initiatives: Opportunities and Implementation Challenges (2001), provides a framework for a potential solution. The report states "the call for higher standards has created the need to provide extra time and additional opportunity for those students who have difficulty meeting standards." However, the complete answer is simply not more time. The real task may be "how best to deliver extended learning opportunities that bolster overall achievement and development without being more of the same instruction presented during the in-school day" (CCSSO).
Out of the discussion has come a new concept - "extended learning opportunities." To some, it simply means "after-school programs." For others, it is supplementing in-school programs with block scheduling, a longer school day, an adjusted class schedule, or a combination of early morning or end-of-day sessions. In any case, educators are looking at some form of supplemental educational activities to extend student learning opportunities and increase student achievement.
Kumon - the World's Largest Provider of Supplemental Education
Not surprising, the world's largest provider of supplemental education is now actively encouraging schools to consider the Kumon Method. Kumon, with established programs in mathematics and reading, serves more than 2.8 million children throughout the world. Learning centers are located in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and North America. Unlike many centers, Kumon offers a specific curriculum that focuses on math and reading.
These Kumon Learning Centers have been doing exactly what the CCSSO and others have been suggesting. Kumon adds learning opportunities to the student's day. At the same time, Kumon complements the school curriculum without simply doing "more of the same." Unlike many currently used math programs, the Kumon method emphasizes calculations, a requirement which even the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has recognized to be somewhat of a weak aspect of American teaching (see Education Week, April 12 and 19, 2000). In April 2000, NCTM revealed that it learned a key lesson in developing its standards by stating publicly:
Students must be fluent in arithmetic computation - they must have efficient and accurate methods and understand them. Students should know their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It was such a dramatic statement that Evers and Milgren (2000) noted: "School districts throughout the country will have to re-evaluate the `content lite' mathematics programs they purchased over the past ten years."
Clearly, Kumon seeks to make computational skills automatic, leaving students with time to work on the more complicated aspects of math. As a result, such basic math functions are performed with little or no thought (Gray and Mulhern, 1995; Marchang, 1991). Whitman, Marcinkiewica, and Hamodey-Douglas (1998) believe such over-learning reduces much anxiety in learning and point out that "students' whose mathematical problemsolving performance is hindered by the continual need to review facts and procedures will learn to view mathematics as an anxiety provoking experience." Such complementary learning clearly supports the standards and the school curricula in use today.
A second aspect of Kumon's complementary method has to do with standardized testing. Partial success in test taking is speed and accuracy, neither of which have been seriously taught or developed by schools. Built into its curriculum, Kumon has set curriculum timing requirements, accuracy of answers, and on-going feedback to improve both speed and correctness. Once again, Kumon extends learning opportunities, and adds valuable learning dimensions not found in the schools.
A similar environment led to the development of Kumon in post-war Japan. Toru Kumon, a math teacher, developed a sequential curriculum comprised of assignments or worksheets to help his son do better in his school math. He gradually began working with other students in his neighborhood. Other teachers learned of his success and established small learning communities or centers. Rapidly expanding in Japan, he created the Kumon Educational Institute and began franchising the method.
One observer (Coulson, 1999) reported that one in three children in Japan are involved in supplemental education programs by grade five. Today, 1,468,577 children in Japan attend Kumon programs. It is the leading provider of supplemental or extended educational programs in that country. Students from Japan and other Asian countries set the pace for the international community consistently placing high on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Repeat, 1999 results shown in Figure 1.
While the Kumon Method has its roots in Japan almost a half century ago, it has continued to develop to meet the needs of students. Both the math and reading curricula material are under constant review and updating, using feedback from instructors, students, families and educators in general. As a result, the Kumon organization has refined the key principles and realized a great deal of success. While much of this success is measured by anecdotal material, Kumon North America, with national headquarters in Teaneck, New Jersey, is now developing research studies which it hopes will quantify this success in terms which educators will recognize as significant.
This article seeks to identify some of the approaches which have been found to be successful with Kumon students. In many cases, research already supports the principles of learning behind the Kumon Method and explains why students are benefiting. In addition, some data from current studies launched by Kumon have given further evidence that this method has great potential to improve student achievement.
The Kumon Method clearly illustrates the value of supplemental education or extended learning opportunities. Schools in America have adopted curricula that seek to improve students conceptual understanding of math and use of manipulatives. Kumon, in contrast, has a great emphasis on computation and efficiency. While schools encourage the student to reflect and consider how problems are to be solved, Kumon encourages the student to develop his or her memory, learn and store computational procedures, and be independent learners. Kumon provides balance to the school program which Klein (2000) describes as having a "near obsession with calculators, and basic skills [which] are given short shrift and sometimes even disparaged."
While much of the Kumon experience in the United States has been in after-school franchised learning centers, it also has a rich history in schools as well. Approximately 8,000 students now use Kumon during regular school hours in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and other cities scattered throughout the United States. Key educators in those communities recognized the potential of Kumon and became proponents of the curriculum. It is on this foundation that the Kumon organization is building its current plans to expand to even more schools, particularly in large cities where the potential to aid students is so great.
With Kumon supplementing the school program, students gain much more from their classroom instruction. Since 1990, the schools have emphasized teaching toward the national and state standards in each subject area. As a result, in math, the focus has been on broad concepts, the understanding of word problems, and the use of calculators. The Kumon Method complements this instruction with the opportunity to practice and apply basic math, thus enabling students to reinforce their classroom learning. It is an extremely meaningful relationship; literally, an educational "one-two punch."
Practice and Repetition
