Important for parents of elementary and middle school children

I doubt most people will care about this post but it's very important, especially for those who I mentioned in the thread title.

 

In 2014 New York State will be radically changing their math curriculum to something called the Common Core Curriculum. On paper and probably in the long run this will be extremely beneficial for the students but for those first few years, the children will have trouble adjusting to it. The United States is trying to desperately keep up with a lot of the Asian countries in terms of overall math scores and are now adopting a system that is pretty similar to Singapore mathematics.

 

As of right now, when we teach mathematics it is very straight forward and essentially just teaching algorithms and "how to do it". We skill and drill at times and sometimes touch on real world applications. However, come 2014 it will become more "why this works the way it does" and here is a real world application of the concept, now figure out how to do it.

 

For example, in the past when teaching surface area we would say:

 

SA of a rectangular prism = 2(lw +lh + wh)

 

dimensions are length = 5, width = 7 height =2, what is the surface area?

 

Now it will be something like:

 

Jimmy wants to buy a fishtank for his room. He has a 12 inch square space on his desk. If 1 gallon of water = (some amount of cubic inches that I forget) and he buys a 5 gallon tank, what is the height of the tank?

 

Jimmy doesnt want his cat to see the fish inside the tank so wants to cover the tank with contact paper. How much contact paper does he need? (This is a surface area question but it is tricky as the student is supposed to figure out he doesn't need to cover top and bottom thus altering the regular SA formula and testing the conceptual knowledge of the student)

 

 

This is just for the surface area strand, there will be major adjustments for all mathematics content.

 

Also, expect the statewides to do a lot of field testing on these types of questions. Essentially, field testing is experimental questions thrown into the statewide test but they are not counted towards the student's score. However, the student doesn't know this and could lose valuable time racking his brain on the question.

 

Anyways, I hope some of you find this helpful :)

I don't want a fishtank

I don't want a fishtank

 

:rofl:

So glad I somehow found a way through Calculus after the third time taking it during college. My brain does not work well at all with numbers. I try to do 2+4 and end up with a derivative divided by 6 and a mild concussion.

So glad I somehow found a way through Calculus after the third time taking it during college. My brain does not work well at all with numbers. I try to do 2+4 and end up with a derivative divided by 6 and a mild concussion.

 

haha yeah math isn't for everyone, and this new curriculum is going to challenge the kids even more. The bad part is that some kids are going to be caught in between curricula, as in they will be learning the current curriculum for a year and then when it switches over, unless they are gifted in mathematics, it's going to be like getting hit with a truck. I gave my honors class (7th graders taking Integrated Algebra -- 9th grade math Regents class) this experimental exam (testing the new curriculum) and they had 14 100's and 14 that were sub 70. It was hit or miss with them. For the regular education class, zero students passed.

That's the way math should be.... Too many times in calculus I asked why the hell we are doing that shit.

 

Im glad they are finally doing that

This is going to back-fire. We require kids to learn to less and less each year. Kids are passed due to age, and keeping them with their friends or because their previous grade no longer wants to deal with them, and not because of academic abilities. While I do agree such change is long overdue, are educational system is much too far removed from being an "educational system" for this to have a true, positive impact and those kids that would be affected. Most kids smart enough to comprehend such approach, already understand, or have the academic abilities to figure out such questions regardless of how it was asked.

haha yeah math isn't for everyone, and this new curriculum is going to challenge the kids even more. The bad part is that some kids are going to be caught in between curricula, as in they will be learning the current curriculum for a year and then when it switches over, unless they are gifted in mathematics, it's going to be like getting hit with a truck. I gave my honors class (7th graders taking Integrated Algebra -- 9th grade math Regents class) this experimental exam (testing the new curriculum) and they had 14 100's and 14 that were sub 70. It was hit or miss with them. For the regular education class, zero students passed.

 

Makes me glad I dont have any kids. In 8th grade I was put into the advanced math program and it just happened to be the year they started the Math A/B system. I believe the first year of Math A testing something like 60% of the kids failed. The transition year is always the hardest because the teachers dont really know what they are teaching or how to teach it(and how could they its a trial at that point).

 

I personally thought that my first year of Calc(took it senor year) was easier than anything taught in Math A/B.

Makes me glad I dont have any kids. In 8th grade I was put into the advanced math program and it just happened to be the year they started the Math A/B system. I believe the first year of Math A testing something like 60% of the kids failed. The transition year is always the hardest because the teachers dont really know what they are teaching or how to teach it(and how could they its a trial at that point).

 

I personally thought that my first year of Calc(took it senor year) was easier than anything taught in Math A/B.

 

Math A/B was one of the most flawed curricula ever created. It was supposed to address the gap between algebras (Sequential 1 & 3 which is now called Integrated Algebra and Algebra 2... with some subtle differences) but as you can tell by how quickly it was shown the door, it didn't perform very well.

This is going to back-fire. We require kids to learn to less and less each year. Kids are passed due to age, and keeping them with their friends or because their previous grade no longer wants to deal with them, and not because of academic abilities. While I do agree such change is long overdue, are educational system is much too far removed from being an "educational system" for this to have a true, positive impact and those kids that would be affected. Most kids smart enough to comprehend such approach, already understand, or have the academic abilities to figure out such questions regardless of how it was asked.

 

Yeah, you are right. It will be a rough couple of years and unfortunately, teachers will probably bear the brunt of the blame. After the transitional period, however, students should become more familiar with the ambiguous real life application questioning and start to perform better.

 

Problem is they want to compete with the Asian countries but it isn't the curricula that is the difference in performance but the differences in culture.

Math A/B was one of the most flawed curricula ever created. It was supposed to address the gap between algebras (Sequential 1 & 3 which is now called Integrated Algebra and Algebra 2... with some subtle differences) but as you can tell by how quickly it was shown the door, it didn't perform very well.

 

From the view of someone that went through the program I believe the biggest flaw was that each course was over 3 semesters. Meaning you were being tested in detail on things you had learned up to a year and a half ago. Try preparing for a test like that. Not to mention because of the curriculum change when we took the SAT's there were math problems we were never really taught(mainly geometry).

 

Its kinda like getting to college calc and having the teacher flip out because none of us were taught matrices and he now had to spend a week teaching us them so we could move on in the class.

 

Personally I believe the education system in this country is a joke. The teachers do the best they can with what they are given but the curriculum they are told to teach is pure memorization(when it comes to math).

From the view of someone that went through the program I believe the biggest flaw was that each course was over 3 semesters. Meaning you were being tested in detail on things you had learned up to a year and a half ago. Try preparing for a test like that. Not to mention because of the curriculum change when we took the SAT's there were math problems we were never really taught(mainly geometry).

 

Its kinda like getting to college calc and having the teacher flip out because none of us were taught matrices and he now had to spend a week teaching us them so we could move on in the class.

 

Personally I believe the education system in this country is a joke. The teachers do the best they can with what they are given but the curriculum they are told to teach is pure memorization(when it comes to math).

 

That was one of it's issues. What they were trying to do was take 3 1-year courses and create 2 1.5-year courses so that the HS math curriculum had a better, natural "flow" to it. As for the curriculum being pure memorization, I can tell you it really isn't that way. Out of all the disciplines, mathematics has the least memorization involved, however; there are some algorithms that are just memorization. Even then, the state tries to minimize that by giving reference sheets during the state exams (whether it be state wide tests or the regents exams).

 

What upsets a lot of us math teachers about this exam is that our test results as well as the ELA test results are released to the public. While there are a lot of incompetent teachers out there, just because a teacher has bad results one year, it doesn't necessarily mean that he or she is a bad teacher. There are a lot of other conditions that can cause test scores to drop and unfortunately most parents lack this understanding (and they usually go after the teacher's throat because of this).

Oh yeah Mentosman, the education system in the United States might not be up to par but it is honestly hard for the United States to compete with other countries. When you factor in all the variables the United States has to deal with, it is amazing that we are middle of the pack. Take Singapore as an example, their country is about the size of New York City and they have a culture that prides themselves on excelling in education. The United States is thousands of miles wide and has hundreds of different cultures that has different standards on education. Each state has their own curriculum (most have more than 1 curriculum) and different economic backgrounds. This is one of the prices we pay to be a global melting pot but honestly, I still feel it is worth the price.

hmm, seems the changes will affect High School as well, so the Regents will most definitely be affected by the new Common Core Curriculum

fuck math B. Cannot recall a single useful concept from that curriculum

fuck math B. Cannot recall a single useful concept from that curriculum

 

Math B is still taught, it's just broken up into the Algebra 2 and partial Geometry curricula. It IS important if you decide to pursue a major that deals primarily with mathematics, however; if you aren't it does end up being pretty useless (at least the trig parts of it).

trig and proofs. fuck it all to hell

 

Proofs were annoying for me because I tend to notice how unnecessary and arbitrary certain things are really easily. Why hell does it matter what form I tell you the angle and the side correlate? They clearly fucking correlate because the damn shape exists in space and time!

 

and yes I do hold a grudge against proofs because it was the reason I almost failed the regents. Almost didnt gain enough partial credit on it because I didnt write things out in the correct format. Because format counts as math now

trig and proofs. fuck it all to hell

 

Proofs were annoying for me because I tend to notice how unnecessary and arbitrary certain things are really easily. Why hell does it matter what form I tell you the angle and the side correlate? They clearly fucking correlate because the damn shape exists in space and time!

 

and yes I do hold a grudge against proofs because it was the reason I almost failed the regents. Almost didnt gain enough partial credit on it because I didnt write things out in the correct format. Because format counts as math now

 

There are a lot of things that can be considered unnecessary in mathematics unless you are pursuing a career that deals with high level mathematics (or at least pursuing a bachelors degree that requires a decent amount of mathematics). As for the format of proofs, it's pretty much the same concept of writing an essay with correct grammar. You could write an essay and get your point across but if it isn't in MLA format, most professors won't give you full credit.

 

Most teachers emphasize writing proofs correctly and it must be modeled for the class as well; if this point is driven home then the blame falls on the students. If it isn't then the blame falls squarely on the teacher. We are told what standards will be tested on the regents and if we didn't teach the correct way of writing a proof (which is definitely a 10th grade standard) then shame on us.

she told us the correct way if I remember correctly but language barrier and her total lack of ability to control/keep the class' attention

she told us the correct way if I remember correctly but language barrier and her total lack of ability to control/keep the class' attention

 

It's rough having a math teacher who has a heavy accent. Most of the time the administration wouldn't hire you if you are an ELL (English Language Learner)

hahaha not in my district. None of the 10th grade math teachers are native english speakers. Except the remedial and advanced levels I believe. For the main bunch, theres a trinidadian, and 2 chinese women.

I was HORRIBLE in math and I'm still bad at it to this day, but I'm sure had they taught in common core I would have understood it more.

But like NosLiWhsoj alluded to, it may make no difference because out standards are already so low.

 

What bothers me as well is how much emphasis is placed on state required tests. For example in Florida, almost the entire curriculum is based around passing the state required tests and that's it, they drill and drill on the tests, thats pretty much it.

Where is the learning? How are young people absorbing this information?

bumping this old thread because NY State has released sample questions for next year. Grades 3-8 State Exams will align to the common core next year and the Regents will align itself to the common core in 2014. In 2015, PARCC will take over and there won't be state exams anymore, instead there will be a National Exam (National is a loose term since there are 2 different companies giving these "National Exams", NYS will take the exam PARCC is formulating).

 

Anyways, here is the sample questions. Scroll to the bottom and they have both ELA and Mathematics for Grades 3-8. I can honestly say that these tests will be a lot more challenging for the students and the first few years will be rough, but if we stick with CCSS, it will be a lot better in the long run.

 

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/apda/common-core-sample-questions/