<p>I find it hard to separate typical usage of the calculator from the issue of how well students are learning math, especially in the years prior to high school. (I don’t believe anyone is suggesting a return to trig tables, etc.)</p>
<p>Standardized tests that allow calculators can easily obfuscate the assessment of math proficiency. Instead, these tests are assessing something different, even on the ACT and SAT, which are putatively constructed to make calculator use a minor advantage (if any).</p>
<p>An egregious example, perhaps, would be K-6 math here in NJ, where, until the spring of this year, calculators were used extensively in the assessment tests (called “NJ ASK”). The use of calculators on the test was reduced to 20% of the questions (from essentially 100%) when it was discovered that “this practice has obscured our ability to measure with confidence students grasp of foundational math skills in mathematics operations.” (quoting the NJ Dept of Ed)</p>
<p>BTW, the GRE will start allowing calculators in August, 2011.</p>