Equal or Same As
by Frank Lammers
Should the use of the term “Equal” when defining the
symbol = in mathematics be forbidden? What does the
symbol actually mean? In the Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), children are
expected to “understand the meaning of equal sign, and
determine if equations involving addition and
subtraction are true or false” (CCSSM 1.OA.7). Some
children define the equal sign as “is” while others will
use the term “equal” to define itself
(http://www.home-school.com/Articles/the-equal-sign-symbol-name-meaning.html).
As children, adults as well, gain more experience in mathematics, too often the equal sign
becomes unintentionally interchangeable with the arrow symbol (
). For example, a
common misconception related to the equal sign could be the following: 7 × 5 + 4 = 35 = 35 + 4
= 39. In this example, even though the intended answer might have been 39, the equation is
clearly not correct. Instead of using the arrow symbol, the math learner used = instead. It would
have been appropriate to write the following: 7 x 5 = 35
35 + 4 = 39.
This type of misconception will often lead students to ignore or become confused by numbers
beyond the first value following the equal sign. For example, consider how students might
respond to the following equation, 4 + 5 =
+ 3. For the last four years, I had third, fourth and
fifth graders overwhelmingly believe the correct missing number for the above equation was 9 or
12. Students did not view the equal sign as equal, but instead viewed it as a continuation of a
computation and ignored the three, which ultimately resulted in the solution of nine. While
others, saw the 3 and believed they should add it to the 9 resulting in the answer 12. Once the
children changed their language of the symbol = from “equal” to “same as” or “same value as,”
they began to see the importance of maintaining equality on both sides of the symbol.
Leadership for the Common Core in Mathematics (CCLM^2) Project, Summer 2012