There has been lots of debate on both sides around the Common Core and its new academic standards. Some say it fosters problem-solving skills beyond math and develops higher thinking; others say it makes kids cry, hate school and get graded on their ability to "draw a picture of the word nobody."

I have no idea who is right. If the issue is in the roll out or the testing. I was bad at old math. Something tells me new math won't be any different. This is not the forum for that debate; it's not the topic I want to discuss.

When I looked at the questions and approach and how kids "show their work" differently; it made me think of a personal, real-life word problem. So I wrote it down.

Every time I read it, the answer changes
and it's always absolute.

Do any of you have a real life, new math problem?
How does it look? Did you solve it?

Make some No15e...