Math Curriculum Revision

At last week's Chat I spoke about doing less, but doing it better. In this case, I was speaking about our math curriculum.

Let me say at the outset (and in case that word "less" causes concern) that our math program is very successful. We have had anecdotal "proof" of this for years when we hear that our graduates are very prepared for the math programs at the middle schools they attend. We also have objective third-party evidence through our students' excellent performance on the math sections of the ERB standardized tests (I've reported this at the annual "State of the School" meetings. If you'd like to learn more, please let me know.)

Our faculty revise at least one area of the curriculum each year. About five years ago, a review of our math curriculum led to the choice of a new text series published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill. We have been pleased with this choice in many ways, but find it very difficult to get through every chapter in a given year. As with most, the content of this series is based upon the Pennsylvania standards for mathematics. As such, it contains a vast amount of content and skills spread out, at most grade levels, over 28 chapters, each with five or six lessons.

When you "do the math" (pardon the pun), a teacher would need to cover a lesson per day in order to even come close to completing the program. This might sound reasonable on the surface, but it is not. Such a pace does not allow for testing days, snow days, field trips, or other special programs. Most importantly, keeping such a pace prevents the teacher from going in depth, utilizing other resources, exploring related topics, and taking the time to insure their students have mastered concepts and skills before moving on. To put it bluntly, if we were to strive to keep pace, we would short-change the learning experience.

And so, the review process this year is focusing on doing less, and doing it better. The teachers are taking a careful look at the scope and sequence at their grade level in conjunction with the grade levels that come before and after, and asking these critical questions: Which topics and skills are developmentally appropriate for this grade level? Which are inappropriate and, therefore, should not be covered in a given year? Which, while appropriate, are also covered in other years and therefore are not required in a given year?

Through this revision, our math curriculum will contain a scope and sequence that covers all of the same concepts and skills as before, but at a more reasonable pace that allows for depth -- a quality that has long been a hallmark of our program.