1. Mathematics in Georgia
District Mathematics Supervisors
December 17, 2014
Brooke Kline
Turtle Toms
Sandi Woodall
Good morning everyone – I know that we’ve caught you at a very busy time and provided you with only a few days’ notice of this session, but now that our SBOE has been briefed we are able to share the progress made in three initiatives and will do so today. Please look forward to a subsequent session as decisions are made.

2. Update Topics Statewide Mathematics Standards Review
Foundations of Algebra Course
Computer Science & 4th Mathematics Course Options
This session will focus on developments regarding the topics listed above. However, please feel free to type in questions and concerns about ant mathematics issues you may be having.
11/16/2018

3. State Mathematics Standards Review
Date
Event
August 2013-September 2014
Surveys and Listening Sessions
October 2-3, 2014
Mathematics Working Committee
October 9, 2014
Mathematics Advisory Council
October 21, 2014
State Board of Education Retreat
October 27, 2014
Combined Advisory and Working Committee
October – December 2014
Business and Industry Input
November 12,2014 – January 10, 2015
SBOE approval to post standard revisions for
60-day public review
December 11, 2014
Status Report to SBOE
January 15, 2015
Request to SBOE for approval of revision based on feedback
So just to remind you, the standards review was requested by the governor in August Our legislators and SBOE members spent a year listening and learning. A number of surveys offered stakeholders an opportunity to voice their thinking as did listening sessions hosted by both legislators and SBOE members. The results of those surveys were analyzed and provided to a working committee of dedicated mathematics educators who reviewed the comments and acted on the comments by way of revising, adding, moving, or deleting standards. The state mathematics advisory ~ approximately 40 K-16 educators who impact mathematics education in their specific role then reviewed the decisions made by the working committee and offered feedback. Finally, a combined working and advisory reconciled any differences noted in the working and advisory thinking about revisions. At this point, the revisions are posted. Following the public review, any changes made as a result of the public feedback will be made and finalized for SBOE action in January. Plan are to implement the changes in the school year.
12/8/14

4. Mathematics Survey Link
If you or the mathematics educators in your district have not found the time to review the standard revisions, there is still time – until January 10, We have heard from many stakeholders, but particularly appreciate the specific suggestions made by our practitioners.
12/8/14

5. State Mathematics Standards Review Public Review Update
The revised standards are posted from November 12, January 10, 2015 for public review comments.
To date, approximately 1500 Georgia stakeholders have responded to the mathematics public review request.
A substantial number of respondents have expressed concerns about the number of standards in the ninth and tenth grade courses.
Survey comments, along with suggestions from the working and advisory committees, will lead to a recommendation to the SBOE regarding proposed reductions in standards in both courses.
We have received over 1500 responses to date. The most actionable responses are those centered on the 9th and 10th grade standards – with an significant number of respondents suggesting that we reduce the number of standards in those courses – and we will suggest just that to our SBOE in January. A team of high school educators are already examining the standards to determine which could be moved into our 11th and 12th grade course.
11/16/2018

6. Mathematics Phone Contacts Integrated vs. Discrete Options
School districts, including those that indicated via the RESA survey that most of their schools prefer the integrated model, are being contacted by DOE staff and SBOE members.
School districts contacted so far have consistently expressed
the need to focus the discrete vs. integrated question on high school Algebra and Geometry courses exclusively
the need to make a decision one way or the other and to “stay the course” once the decision is made
the need for teacher resources and professional learning
the need for student resources and parent communication
the need for funding to replace or supplement textbooks or materials that were purchased for the current high school CCGPS mathematics course sequence
You’ll remember that 83.4% of survey respondents indicated that they preferred discrete 9th and 10th grade courses – algebra in 9th and geometry in 10th. Our senior leadership and SBOE members are currently contacting each school district and here’s what they have told us …
11/16/2018

7. High School Mathematics
Discussions continue among State Board of Education members and their constituents regarding the discrete and integrated ninth and tenth grade courses.
GPS : integrated blending of algebra and geometry standards throughout the three courses
CCGPS: discrete studies of algebra and geometry with connectivity by linking algebra and geometry in each of the three courses
Proposed Traditional: discrete studies of algebra in two courses and a discrete study of geometry in one course.
…just to remind you – here is an description of each of the high school sequences we’ve seen since 2008
12/8/14

8. Foundations of Algebra Course Status Report
A proposal for a high school core course titled Foundations of Algebra, aimed at students who struggle significantly in middle school mathematics, was introduced during the SBOE November 2014 meeting.
It was requested that the course be implemented in the school year.
The GaDOE mathematics team was asked to designate an initiative lead to study the requirements surrounding the implementation of a course.
Also on the SBOE docket is a proposal for a new high school math course aimed at that small segment of our ninth grade population who has struggled significantly with mathematics in elementary and middle school. Let me take a moment to introduce our initiative lead – Melissa Stewart. Melissa has contributed heavily in the past with statewide resources (Advanced Algebra in two years) and with statewide professional learning, serving as our 2014 Summer Academy Administrator. Melissa, would you like to comment here?
12/8/14

9. Foundations of Algebra Course Status Report
The initiative lead, in collaboration with the GaDOE team, convened a task force to examine existing K-12 mathematics standards to be amalgamated for the purpose of revisiting and expanding student understanding of foundational algebra concepts.
A final draft of the course standards was submitted on December 12, 2014, for review.
Melissa has already been working – she and a 10-member task force have amalgamated standards for the proposed course and she has even drafted a proposed curriculum map.
12/8/14

10. Foundations of Algebra Course Status Report
If the course and all facets of the course initiative are approved at the January SBOE meeting:
Student Enrollment Criteria will be established and a Monitoring Plan Guidance document published.
Course and Module Pre- and Post- Assessments, along with a Screener Administration and Usage Manual, will be published.
If the course receives board approval in January, we are geared up to provide enrollment criteria and monitoring plan guidance for our districts who decide to add the course to their course offerings. We also have plans for ensure the fidelity of implementation through in-course assessments and a data-driven course modification process via ongoing diagnostic screening.
12/8/14

11. Foundations of Algebra Course Status Report
If the course and all facets of the course initiative are approved at the January SBOE meeting:
3. A teacher guidance course overview and 5 modules of instruction emphasizing differentiation will also be crafted.
4. Professional learning sessions will be designed to include: two 3-hour segments focused on the administration and usage of the progress screener; four 3-hour segments focused on the course module content; and one 3-hour segment for school/district administration.
Because teachers of this course will benefit from both resources and professional learning, those too are included in the proposed initiative outcomes.
12/8/14

12. Foundations of Algebra Q & A
How would the course fit into our current high school mathematics sequence of courses?
Grade
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
9th
Coordinate Algebra
Accelerated Coordinate Algebra/Analytic Geometry A
Foundations of Algebra
10th
Analytic Geometry
Accelerated Analytic Geometry B/ Advanced Algebra
11th
Advanced Algebra
Accelerated Pre-Calculus
12th
Pre-Calculus or Other 4th Course Option
AP Calculus or Other 4th Course Option
As with any change in the present circumstances, there are questions to be answered. I certainly do not have all of the answers, and probably have not even seen all the questions at this point. However, I can address three questions today – this chart suggests a third option for high school mathematics. It is imperative that we recognize that just as our acceleration option meets the needs of a very small subset of our student population – so will the option which begins with Foundations of Algebra meet the needs of a very small subset of our student population . Judiciously following the student enrollment criteria will ensure that only students who have struggled significantly in previous years are enrolled in this course.
12/8/14

13. Foundations of Algebra Q & A
How would the approval of the core course impact our current mathematics graduation requirements?
The course would be added to the IDA-3 roster of state-funded courses as a core course.
The mathematics graduation requirements would remain virtually unchanged.
Four units of core credit in mathematics shall be required of all students, including Mathematics I or GPS Algebra, or its equivalent and Mathematics II or GPS Geometry, or its equivalent and Mathematics III or GPS Advanced Algebra or its equivalent. Additional core courses needed to complete four credits in mathematics must be chosen from the list of GPS/ CCGPS /AP/IB/dual enrollment designated courses.
I can answer the graduation requirement question by examining our current requirements – what I find is that students will need the first three mathematics courses + a 4th core course. Note that the graduation rule does not specify that the fourth course must be a fourth course option. While we certainly agree that choosing a course below the next level is not in a student’s best interest, this case is different and requires expanded thinking.
12/8/14

14. Foundations of Algebra Q & A
Will students who complete the option 3 sequence be eligible for admission to USG /TCSG institutions?
USG and TCSG have assured us that students completing the option 3 sequence will be eligible for admission to some of their institutions.
USG suggests that the completion of four years of mathematics core courses is strongly advised.
As far as eligibility for admission to TCSG and USG, our post-secondary colleagues have assured us that some of their institutions will consider completers of option 3. They did advise that they would like to see that struggling students are enrolled in math each of the 4 high school years.
12/8/14

15. Computer Science Courses : Status Report
In response to the Governor’s expectation that the SBOE/GaDOE allow computer programming courses to satisfy 4th mathematics and/or 4th science core requirements and/or foreign language credit, a Computer Science Task Force was created to make graduation requirement, unit credit, and teacher certification/preparation recommendations in the following areas:
Each computer science course will satisfy only one core requirement or credit
AP and IB computer science courses will meet requirement or credit
TCSG/USG Dual Enrollment computer science courses will meet requirement or credit
GAVS computer science courses will meet requirement or credit
CTAE Pathway computer science courses will meet requirement or credit
New course options that meet the approval of USG and TCSG for admission to post-secondary institutions will meet requirement or credit
Course options that meet the needs of business and industry
In-field certification from PSC to support these courses is under discussion
Our final topic speaks to the governor’s request to allow computer programming courses to satisfy our 4th mathematics requirement. I’ll give you a moment to review the task force’s charge.
12/3/2014

16. Computer Science Timeline
December 3, 2014 – Computer Science Task Force Meeting
December 11, Status Report to State Board of Education
December 17, 2014 – Computer Science Task Force Meeting
January 15, Proposal to State Board of Education
February 19, 2015 – Included in the Rule ( ) for the list of State-Funded courses as meeting 4th science and/or 4th mathematics core requirements and/or credit in foreign language
School Year – Students to count designated Computer Science courses as a 4th science and/or 4th mathematics core requirements and/or foreign language for unit credit – all meeting admission requirements for either USG or TCSG
Note that any changes approved by our SBOE will take effect in the school year.
12/3/2014

17. 11/16/2018

18. 11/16/2018