The State Board of Education at its June meeting unanimously approved revised high school mathematics standards for Math 1, 2, and 3, the key high school-level math courses required of all students. These new standards will go into effect in the fall of 2016.
“Board members are very pleased to approve the revised standards,” State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey said. “There was an excellent standards revision process, and it was good to see the leadership role of our mathematics teachers. Teachers who actually teach Math 1, 2 and 3 took the leadership in rewriting these key standards. That ensures strong standards with wide acceptance by classroom teachers.”
The changes modify the sequence of standards covered in these three integrated mathematics courses and improve the clarity of standards where recommended by teachers. The standards are aligned to the standards expected by The College Board, ACT and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
NC Department of Public Instruction staff and local teachers will follow the same process in the fall and engage mathematic teachers in reviewing K-8 math standards and fourth-level math courses Advanced Functions and Modeling, Discrete Mathematics and Pre-Calculus.
The NCDPI mathematics team is working in conjunction with district math leaders and other external stakeholders to develop an implementation and pacing framework that will provide the following supports for local mathematics leaders and high school math teachers:
• 2016 Summer Information Sessions;
• In-Person Regional Math Professional Development;
• Virtual Teacher Support (just-in-time); and
• Curriculum Leader Implementation Support.
The outcomes of this work will be to provide implementation support for local districts and schools; to provide continuous learning and direct support for classroom teachers; increase district capacity to identify quality classroom resources; support teachers’ understanding of mathematical coherence and the “big ideas” in high school math courses; and build a digital tool for math teachers that is dynamic, sustainable and growth-oriented in years 2 and 3.
The revised standards are available online for review.