Can anyone explain the new Math Core Curriculum?

[silverspoons]

I live in Utah (but we are strongly considering leaving) and our local higly rated high school really only has information on Utah colleges. They said I could have any classes my child wanted for an out of state school but I had to do the research for it. No problem, I called all the colleges my child is interested in right now and got advice and picked classes. My child just started 9th grade and was a high honor roll student last year and is interested in studying math or engineering in college. I asked for classes and they gave us a schedule I really liked and I was very happy.

The day before school started my child got the official class schedule and the math was listed as core 1. Well my child already took algebra so I wondered what is core 1? geometry? or thought maybe they by mistake placed my child in a special edu math class. The principal was vague on the first day of school but said it was the correct placement for my child. A few days into school my child says something is not right about this math. I don't know what it is I am learning. It is just random word problems and lots of written work(my child is on the spectrum and loves math, science, computers and struggles to get an A in language arts but does). I asked if maybe a teacher change would be good and I got a no answer but they were willing to change. I love all the other classes so I hated to change unless necessary. I finally had a meeting with all the school staff and was told about the new math core curriculum. I could tell the school and teachers were not happy with the program. I could tell it was a government or state decision and they had no choice. the school offered different teachers but it would all be the same "new math". They could not tell me if it was algebra or geometry just that by 12th grade it all should be covered in one way or another. If my child works hard and goes to school all summer , there is a way to skip 2 years of "new math" and take college math. I got the impression Utah is not the only state with this new core math??

My big worry is will this core math hurt my child's chances to get into college for math or engineering? If the report card doesn't say geometry or calculus do colleges understand or know what this new core is? Is it looked badly to have taken core math? Should I be considering some college math classes? I don't want to overload my child but I don't want to cut off future choices.

We have been very torn about moving and this pushes us one step closer to moving. I just wanted to know if other states are doing this program? or anyone here has any experience good or bad with it. I tried looking up online but it seems to be a huge political debate. Normally I would debate politics but right now I just want the facts for my child. Up until now my child has had a wonderful math education. My child's school has the highest math test scores in the state so up until this new math they were doing something right :(

[MajorMajor]

My answer is going to be limited as a) I only have an elementary teaching certificate not high school b) I don't live in Utah and c) I'm a new teacher. However...

The new common core math standards supposedly focus on developing a deeper understanding of mathematic concepts through what are called "rich tasks" aka activities that apply the concept to real life problem solving in a way that forces a student to think deeply about the problem. An example in an elementary school context would be instead of doing a worksheet that has rectangles on it with their measurements and having students find the area and perimeter, students might have to design several versions of a skate park that has a certain perimeter while changing the area and decide on the best design and why.

As far as the new math classes, it sounds like maybe they are integrated math classes, meaning instead of just learning say geometry for the semester or year, the course covers several area of math (geometry, algebra, trig, etc) throughout the year. The next level of core math would build on the previous concepts and add new ones. That's just my guess as to what that means.

And as long as his grades are good and he has taken four years of math I would think he will be fine college wise.

I have mixed feelings behind common core but I do support the idea behind it.

[LeopardLady]

My concern is that it appears the only way to get to "college math" is to take summer school classes. Your kid seems to have been at least a little advanced (having already taken algebra by high school) but was put in "core 1" does that mean he loses that year of advancement?

[SoybeanQueen]

Almost all states in the US (45, I think) have adopted the Core Curriculum, and it's actually designed to be a college prep program. I just had to go to a meeting about it last night, actually. It is supposed to make academics more consistent across the US, so if you moved from Utah to Colorado, or somewhere else, your child would be learning the same stuff in the same grade.

According to the speaker at the meeting I went to, the core stuff should cover topics very deeply instead of skimming lots of different things. Students will also be expected to show their knowledge in different ways, like a traditional test, plus being able to tell someone "why does 2 + 2 = 4." That may be what you're seeing with the different worksheets and such.

It sounds like the change will be good, but it's going to be a couple of years before it all works smoothly. I, too, would be concerned if my child was in high school while all of the changes happen.

One thing you might be able to do is order a homeschool math curriculum for enrichment or reinforcement of ideas. My personal favorite is Life of Fred Math, which actually covers up through the first few levels of college math, but there are plenty of others to fit almost any learning style.

[julie paradox]

... being able to tell someone "why does 2 + 2 = 4."

and is the answer anything other than "because that's how 2 and 4 (to say nothing of + and =) are defined"?

(I can't get my head round the US maths curriculum. The comment that the child must be quite advanced if he did algebra before 9th grade suggests that "algebra" means something totally different to you than to me.)

[stacyf]

As an engineer I will say that some college students heading toward a math degree have had AP Calculus A/B or by the end of senior year of high school. There were also students that had only pre-calculus. I guess what makes it difficult is course load in college. If you have already had Calculus then your first Calculus class in college is easy and you build on that since most engineering programs have a 2 Semester calculus requirement as well as multi-variable Calculus and then some type of differential equations class.

If you are somewhat advanced in Math in the US school system you finish Algebra in your 8th year and then take Geometry, Algebra 2 (multi variable), pre-Calculus/Trigonometry and finally Calculus. I finished Calculus my Junior (11th year) and did an Independent study math in my senior year. So glad I didn't have to explore math more deeply or whatever this core curriculum means, I get math and it is easy and very easily understood by me. On the other hand I struggled tremendously with creative writing and language arts. I have a job in engineering I have not yet needed to elaborate on the color of the sky in my professional life but I use Calculus every day.

[SoybeanQueen]

Personally, no, I don't think it's terribly advanced to do algebra before high school. My daughter is in 6th grade and is already doing algebra in the regular classroom. Of course, I think she's brilliant and advanced in every way, but her whole class is doing the same math papers, so... ;)

[RainbowSky]

Doing Algerbra and taking Algebra are two different things. You strt really young with the " x+2=4" stuff which is technically algebra. There are quite a few more concepts in an actual algebra class, though :)

And math at my kids' elementary school makes me twitchy. That and reading, the way they teach the stuff; makes no damn sense.

[uber frau]

Doing Algerbra and taking Algebra are two different things. You strt really young with the " x+2=4" stuff which is technically algebra. There are quite a few more concepts in an actual algebra class, though :)

.

That's a good point. In Australia the curriculum doesn't include anything actually labelled 'algebra' until high school (around age 12, dependant on the state) but technically, the kids have been doing algebra for a whole lot longer.

I find it interesting that the course is split into areas in the US. I can't imagine slogging through a whole year of algebra or a whole year of geom&trig. Here the syllabus includes a bit of everything every year, unless you're in upper high school(years 11 &12) and want to take an additional class (usually a prerequisite for engineering degrees at uni) on top of whatever stream of standard math you're taking.

[silverspoons]

My son took algebra 1 & 2 in 7 and 8th grade. He was in an honors track. Normally it would have lead to geometry, calculus, and statistics and a year of college math but there were many options, like AP, testing up, and I knew several students a few years ago that left with 2 year math degrees in high school. I actually moved to this strict LDS neighborhood where I feel uncomfortable daily because the middle and high school were the top rated public math an science schools in the state. Many teachers have doctorate or MD's that taught my son in math and science. The school had a 99% proficiency in Math and science and 157 4.0 students last year, compared to the high school a few miles away at 16% proficiency and 3 4.0 students. If the program wasn't broke, why change it? I guess all school in 45 states have to change by 2014. 4 states opted out, and one Indiana tried it for a year and dropped it. 11 other states have petitions to drop it. Utah won't drop it because keeping it means money and we all know Utah has the lowest funding per student.

I guess the language arts changed as well. I knew my son was reading less but I didn't question it. I thought maybe Utah was censoring reading and had my son read son classics at home. Since he is not interested in languages arts after he graduates high school I wasn't concerned. I talked to his teacher and the changes are interesting, like she has to play books on cd and she has to tell the kids how she would answer the question before they answer.

My son's goal college is WPI or something similar. We have no private school options at all. I would put him in a LDS or FLDS school right now to get the classes I feel he needs but it is all public school or online/homeschool here. I made my son take several classes that were hard for him being on the autistic spectrum to make sure he had what these college require, like extra foreign languages, fine arts, and to participate in sports.

My husband had 2 good jobs offers in CT and Mass and an okay offer in upstate ny. I have weighed the cost of housing, the ability of get a loan to avoid renting or pay cash for a home(no Im not a Duggar but in upstate ny I could come close to buying a house outright). No perfect answer has come about moving so I thought since my kids have a great education here I would stay but now this makes me want to move but will this be everywhere in the next 2 years? If this is a state program, can districts opt out? or if the state takes $$ do all the districts have to adopt it? Since textbooks won't be ready till 2018 I can't imagine the majority of our country being able to switch by 2014. Our school district has never been able to afford textbooks, so my kids have never had them and teachers know how to teach without them so it is easier here but I assume most k-12 kids in the US today have textbooks like I did 25 years ago?