The debate over how to teach math in Georgia public schools has moved into local hands. And metro Atlanta’s biggest systems appear to be leaning in different directions.
The state school board on Monday voted 10-1 to let local districts ditch integrated math as the required curriculum and choose the approach they deem best. The move comes after the state’s experiment with the accelerated curriculum led to thousands of teens failing final exams.
Now districts will begin the process of picking between integrated math, offering a new menu of traditional courses or providing both options to rising freshmen. Some are already taking steps to involve parents and teachers in the process.
Fulton and DeKalb Schools are leaning towards the traditional layered approach of separate courses in algebra and geometry. Gwinnett and Hall County Schools plan on staying the course with the integrated math concept.
“We don’t have any plans to change for next year,” said Tricia Kennedy, Gwinnett School’s executive director of curriculum and instruction. “We have been looking at our pass rates for high school math as well as our End of Course exam pass rates. We have seen an increase over the last three years on both of those measures.”
Marietta City Schools will share information with parents tonight at its board meeting. Cobb County Schools expects to have a decision in April.
The state board’s vote giving districts flexibility allowed Georgia Schools Superintendent John Barge to make good on a campaign promise to offer math options that struggling students and those who prefer a sequential order to learning math could handle.
The board’s vote allows districts to offer algebra I, geometry and algebra II to rising freshmen next fall under the rigorous Georgia Performance Standards curriculum.
“When we surveyed the school districts across the state, two-thirds wanted something different than what we were offering,” Barge said.
In Georgia, 6,000 to 10,000 teens are in jeopardy of not graduating because they can’t pass required math courses. Support classes for Math I, Math II and Math III also were approved as core credit courses to help struggling kids graduate on time. Students must take four years of math to graduate no matter which path their district chooses.
Moving in another direction could mean additional expenses for those already facing tight budgets. Many school systems have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on integrated math textbooks and staff development to help teachers deliver the state’s ambitious integrated math curriculum, which exposed students to a fast-paced mix of algebra, geometry and statistics sooner than ever before.
Gwinnett, the state’s largest district, spent $3 million on textbooks. The state launched the curriculum in fall 2008 to help students become more competitive globally for college and careers.
DeKalb Schools spokesman Walter Woods said the district believes it can offer traditional math without a major overhaul. As the debate to offer choice progressed in the state, curriculum administrators began to plan for a future that included traditional math.
“The training has already been budgeted,” Woods said.
Fulton Schools officials said last week parents have asked for traditional math and that its schools have been teaching a blended approach, though they don’t have traditional courses yet.
Parents say flexibility is important. In May, 80,000 teens -- 41 percent of high school students -- failed final exams in Math I and Math II.
“This is good for all of the students in Georgia,” said Tammy Lucas, co-founder of Georgia Parents for Math.”We know from the current data that integrated is not working. There is no reason to stick with a program that has failed.”
Math education at a glance
Q: What is integrated math?
A: Math that is taught using a multidisciplinary approach that draws on concepts taught in algebra, geometry and statistics simultaneouslyto solve problems.
Q: What is a traditional approach to teaching math?
A: Students learn one math topic at a time in depth to develop building blocks that help them comprehend the next level of math taught.
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