The Charles A. Dana Center
an organized research unit of
The University of Texas at Austin
Position Statement
Recommendations for the Texas fourth-year mathematics course
September 2006
Our premises:
•
All students should take mathematics each year they are in high school—and especially their
senior year—to be prepared for college-level mathematics.
•
The content of the Algebra II high school course should be as described in the Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills. There should be accountability measures to help ensure that
courses are taught with consistency to all students across campuses.
•
Students should have a small number of options for their fourth year of mathematics after
Algebra II; these options should help them become ready for college-level mathematics.
•
The state’s rigorous Recommended High School Program should be the default option for
Texas students’ high school education.
•
We strongly support a phase-in program to increase requirements for high school graduation
and new fourth-year courses.
Options for the fourth year of mathematics should include Advanced Mathematics, a new
capstone course that would have an Algebra II prerequisite and serve as an alternative course to
Precalculus, Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics, AP Calculus, or International Baccalaureate
(IB) mathematics courses, as well as to College Algebra M1413 or any course beyond it that is
offered for concurrent enrollment or dual credit. This Advanced Mathematics course would be
defined by to-be-written Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills statements.
The Advanced Mathematics capstone course would be a viable alternative for students who are
not planning to enter college programs that require Calculus as the entry-level mathematics
course. Advanced Mathematics would include the mathematics that is essential for all students to
be ready for college-level mathematics—as defined by Achieve’s American Diploma Project
benchmarks (available at www.achieve.org/node/175)—including components from statistics
and probability, discrete mathematics, mathematical modeling, and trigonometry.
The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin
www.utdanacenter.org
Eventually, Mathematical Models with Applications, the TEKS-defined course that does not
have Algebra II as a prerequisite, would not count toward the new Recommended High School
Program that requires four years of mathematics. Mathematical Models with Applications would
remain as an optional mathematics course to support and build on algebra and geometry skills,
but it would not be a course intended to replace an Algebra II credit.
Proposed timeline for implementation of a required fourth-year course in Texas high school
mathematics:
2007–08
Texas requires that under the Recommended High School Program, ninth-graders
must take four years of mathematics for graduation, including Algebra I, Geometry,
and Algebra II. Begin to develop TEKS for the new Advanced Mathematics capstone
course.
2008–09
Instructional materials and supports for teachers are developed for the new Advanced
Mathematics course.
Several schools pilot the Advanced Mathematics capstone course.
Advanced Mathematics course is implemented across Texas in every high school.
Students will graduate with four years of college-preparatory mathematics: Algebra I,
Geometry, Algebra II, and a fourth-year mathematics course (Precalculus, AP
Statistics, AP Calculus, IB mathematics, College Algebra, or the new Advanced
Mathematics course).
2009–10
2010–11
2
The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin
www.utdanacenter.org