Predictably,

business interests are whining that our students are not measuring up in their math skills.

One problem is the NCTM started pushing for more and more complex math concepts being taught in earlier grades in response to the corporate garbage our kids weren't "measuring up." We now have middle school students who are learning pre-algebra, not just algebraic concepts. Consequently, a lot of these kids are flunking out, and naturally, they wind up in special ed.

It's a great way to create an underclass in this country, but it doesn't help the kids.

We in special ed have to clean up the messes made earlier on, thanks to mumbo-jumbo math that doesn't teach mastery of skills (and yes, memorization is critical in EVER being good at doing almost all math in the real world). Instead, we get spiral-type math like Everyday Math or Saxon Math where kids learn a little bit here, a little bit there, and there's never mastery of a single concept.