Anikka Reinertson responded as only a third-grader can when asked about her favorite subject.
"Lunch," said Anikka, a skinny 9-year-old at Paideia Academy, as she smiled and flashed her bright pink braces. Her classmates giggled and chimed in with recess, art and reading.
Not one student suggested math or science as their top pick.
Anikka's behavior during a recent math class told a different story as the third-graders listened intently to their teacher's geometry questions about calculating perimeter and area. She even admitted she's learning to like math.
Leslie Davis, the teacher, handed out graph paper so the students could form various shapes out of plastic blue, red, yellow and green tiles. Several also eagerly raised their hands when Davis looked for students to solve addition and multiplication problems on the white board - without calculators.
The setting could pass for a typical suburban classroom with its computers, posters, Spanish alphabet chart and maps.
But the math curriculum embraced at the Apple Valley charter school has global roots.
Paideia curriculum director Jill Godtland said the second-year charter school picked Singapore Math this year because the curriculum emphasizes a sound grasp of the most basic concepts as students tackle more advanced math topics sooner than they might otherwise.
Teachers and administrators were looking for a method to boost math scores because they count even more in high-stakes tests mandated under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
They turned to Singapore, which is regularly the top-scoring nation in the world in math.
The federal government's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, known as TIMSS, shows Singapore consistently on top while the U.S. languishes behind countries like Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Paideia students complete more homework, but the difficulty isn't overwhelming, the kids and teachers said.
"If something is hard, we can get more help," Anikka said. "It makes math more fun."
Classmate Emily Adolphsen added, "At my old school they'd just say 'do it' or 'here you go.' "
Beth Aune, director of the Division of Academic Standards and High School Improvements at the Minnesota Department of Education, said helping students become better at math is the goal.
Minnesota is currently in the final weeks of completing new math standards, which the state Legislature will examine this session.
Current elementary students are required to take Algebra 1 before entering high school. The new standards will help students become more competitive in an increasingly global economy, Aune said, and will better prepare them for careers that will require more high-level math and science skills.
