RAPID CITY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 51-4
300 Sixth Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
Director
Office of Staff Development
Date:
January 26, 2012
To:
Dr. Timothy Mitchell, Rapid City Board of Education
From:
Dr. Susie Roth, Director of Staff Development
Subject:
High School Mathematics Pathway
At the high school level, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics show the
knowledge students should learn to be college and career ready and to be prepared to study
more advanced mathematics. In order to implement the high school standards, the standards
need to be organized into courses. To address this need, Achieve, an independent education
reform organization, in partnership with the Common Core writing team, convened a group of
experts to develop Model Course Pathways in Mathematics based on the Common Core State
Standards.
Regardless of the pathway chosen, the mathematical standards students learn in their first
three years of high school mathematics are the same. The only difference in the pathways lies
in the sequencing of the standards themselves. The chart below illustrates the two options for
high school course organization.
Districts in South Dakota must decide if they will organize their high school mathematics
coursework in alignment with the Traditional Pathway or the Integrated Pathway. The State
Department of Education will accept either pathway, and has encouraged districts to consider
the Integrated Pathway. A common course title and numbering system is in place that will
provide for both the traditional and the integrated pathways in high school mathematics.
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In order to make an informed decision in students’ best interest, a High School CCSS
Committee, with representation from all three high schools, has met during the 2011-2012
school year. This committee has studied the research and the pathway options, has
communicated with and sought input from building-level teachers, and has made a unanimous
recommendation in support of the Integrated Pathway option. The courses Integrated Math 1,
Integrated Math 2, and Integrated Math 3 would be implemented one year at a time with
incoming freshman, beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. Students who have begun with
a traditional pathway would continue that pathway throughout their high school experience.
This recommendation is also supported by the three high school principals and central office
administration, and it was supported by Instructional Council on January 24, 2012. Plans are in
place to inform incoming freshman and their parents of the organization of high school
mathematics coursework at the freshman orientation sessions at both Central and Stevens
High Schools beginning in February 2012.
An Integrated Pathway decision would require a change in language in the high school course
description book, as indicated in the course description that follows:
Integrated Math 1 is the first course in a three-year sequence using standards from the
algebra, geometry, and statistics domains. These domains are taught together so
connections and interrelationships between these three domains of mathematics occur.
Algebra, Geometry, and Statistics standards are distributed throughout this course,
which is taught in an inquiry instructional approach. Specifically, students will deepen
and extend understanding of linear relationships. Students will also study linear and
exponential functions, equations, descriptive statistics, congruence of geometric figures,
and algebra and geometry through coordinates. The Mathematical Practice Standards,
which entails students using their abilities to make sense of problem situations, also
apply to this course.
The rationale developed by the High School CCSS Committee that explains the reasons for the
recommendation accompanies this memo. Highlights of this rationale include (1) The
Integrated Pathway views mathematics as coherent and interconnected, (2) The Integrated
Pathway allows for real-world application and for making better sense making of mathematics,
(3) The Integrated Pathway is in alignment with the district’s K-8 mathematics, and (4) the
assessment system that will accompany the CCSS and other high stakes assessments (such as
the ACT) are integrated and address multiple standards on each question. The complete
rationale is on page three of this memo.
We would like permission to move forward with the Integrated Pathways approach to high
school mathematics.
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By a unanimous decision, the high school members of the CCSS committee are
recommending RCAS select the integrated pathway for mathematics instruction.
The rationale for this recommendation includes:
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The integrated pathway views mathematics as a dynamic, coherent, interconnected set of
ideas, and that is limited in the traditional pathway.
The integrated pathway allows real-world application and allows students to make better
sense of mathematics.
Integrated math is about making connections in math; no subject is an island.
o Year 1 and year 2 have some changes that allow for different disciplines of math to
relate to each other.
o Year 3 is relatively the same in either pathway. Beyond that, the courses are
integrated by their nature.
Brain research has shown that students retain material better when it is presented in a
coherent, integrated manner.
The On Course for Success Study from ACT states that the best way to present material to
students is through real world problems and interdisciplinary connections.
Mathematics in RCAS currently is integrated K-8. An integrated pathway would be in
alignment with the current direction and approach to math instruction within RCAS.
In a study of the world’s top math curriculums, 90 percent of the world is already using an
integrated curriculum, and they are outperforming the U.S.
The CCSS are calling for a change in the approach to high school mathematics, so this is an
opportune time for this change.
The next generation assessment system and other high stakes assessments (such as the ACT)
are integrated, addressing multiple standards on each question.
High School CCSS Committee
Members
Tom Keck
Julie Jackson
Kirk Guymon
Dan Conrad
Kevin James
Brody Griffen
Sherri Rathert
Seth Keene
Luis Usera
Sally Heberlein
Becky Umenthum
Sharon Rendon
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The * in the chart means that Calculus follows
Precalculus and is a fifth course, in most cases.
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