By Teresa Williams

teresa.williams@gaflnews.com n

THOMASVILLE — Area schools are calculating the implementations and results of state-mandated math curriculum changes.

Georgia Performance Standards — GPS — for mathematics were adopted in 2005 by the Georgia Board of Education to replace Quality Core Curriculum — QCC — with implementation to occur over a multi-year period: sixth grade in 2005, kindergarten through second and seventh in 2006, third through fifth and eighth in 2007, and ninth through 12th during 2008-2011.

Dr. Dale Graham, math coordinator for Thomasville City Schools and Thomasville City Schools Scholars Academy director, said middle school students used to “add, subtract, multiply, divide, do fractions and percents with a little pre-algebra, with a small group taking algebra 1.”

“Now, every middle school student, by the time they complete the eighth grade, will have pretty much finished about 90 percent of what used to be algebra 1 and about 70 percent of what used to be Euclidean geometry,” she said. “The curriculum has been accelerated and this is a huge change.”

GPS was developed by teachers and educators with input from leaders in government, business and industry, a release from Georgia Department of Education said. The curriculum is closely aligned to standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the American Statistical Association, Achieve, and the College Board.

Dr. Scott James, director of research and accountability for Thomas County Schools, said changes in math curriculum are “lean,” “rigorous” and “coherent.”

This means there are fewer topics at every grade level — sixth grade went from 53 to 18 — a more depth of understanding and less repetition.

James said a main reason for these curriculum changes was Georgia students were not performing as well on mathematics portions of standardized tests, even though they were taking “as many, and sometimes more,” math courses than students in other states.

“Compared to changes in the other content areas, the changes in the math curriculum may have been the most dramatic,” James said.

He said the goal of these changes is to enable students to be “better prepared for each successive year in our schools” and “to pursue their futures after graduating from high school.”

GPS is designed to “achieve a balance among concepts, skills, and problem solving,” a GADOE release said, as well as prepare more students to be successful in higher-level courses such as accelerated learning and advanced placement.

“In addition to the new standards being taught, more application is required of the students, showing not just knowledge but also the ability to think and find ways to apply that knowledge in tasks,” said Norma Chick, an eighth-grade math teacher at Washington Middle School.