Georgia school districts can return to the old way of teaching high school math if they choose, by separating algebra and geometry concepts that have been taught together since the late 2000s to the consternation of teachers.
The “integrated” method generated controversy because it confounded some students. More than 80 percent of teachers surveyed last year opposed the integrated model. It combined algebra, geometry and data probability in one course.
The Georgia board of education voted Thursday to disentangle the subjects, approving a new policy that will allow local districts to choose between the integrated method and the traditional “discrete” method. The adoption of new standards for these subjects, meaning there will be tests for them, also establishes an algebra “foundations” course for struggling freshmen. The vast majority of survey respondents agreed that each of the new standards was clear, appropriate and rigorous.
The board also voted to rename the standards for math and all other curriculum. They were called the Georgia Performance Standards. They are now called the Georgia Standards of Excellence.
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