Georgia education leaders could get closer to settling the state's math debate Thursday when the state board of education hears new recommendations on how to structure high school math courses.
Teachers and superintendents argue the state's "integrated" way of teaching math in high school – which combines three disciplines such as geometry, algebra and data probability — is not preparing students well enough for college math. Students are struggling to learn the math, and teachers coming out of universities into classrooms are not adequately prepared to teach it, school administrators say. Textbooks and other materials needed to teach that math method are also scarce, they add.
State education officials are recommending districts be given the choice of sticking with “integrated” math or using the more “traditional” approach, which focuses primarily on one kind of math in each course. But that has its own set of challenges related to the cost of textbooks and standardized tests.
The state board won't make a decision this month, but will hear the recommendations. The board is also set to vote on revisions to clarify some Common Core standards adopted by the state. The bulk of the proposed revisions are in math, particularly for ninth and 10th grade where Georgia students have struggled in recent years.
To see a history of math education, check out this timeline on MyAJC.com.
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