A few weeks ago, a father posted a page from his son's supposed common-core math assignment on Facebook, claiming that despite his own degree in engineering, he could not solve the problem.

6 Math Problems That You Can Solve To Earn Thousands Of Dollars In Prize Money By Walt Hickey 2013-07-16T20:19:00Z ...

But math discourse got a boost in 2010, when the new Common Core State Standards put a high priority on ensuring that students understood the concepts underlying their calculations.