Pre-algebra out as U-46 intensifies math curriculum

Pre-algebra has been booted from the high school math curriculum in Elgin Area School District U-46.

Number phobes -- don't rejoice just yet.

As part of an effort to intensify its courses, U-46 will require all high school students, starting with the graduating class of 2011, to have three full years of rigorous math.

Algebra 1-2, geometry and algebra 3-4 will all be required.

"It's a major shift," Jan Goetz, U-46 math and science coordinator told the school board Monday. "Two years ago, students were not even needing algebra to graduate."

A U-46 committee of teachers and administrators set to work recommending ways to implement the state's new graduation requirements in 2005, Goetz said. The Illinois State Board of Education will require students graduating in 2010 and beyond to have three years of math, which include a year of algebra and another year of a course with geometry content.

U-46 chose to take their requirements a step further, Goetz said.

"Driving our actions was the fact the same level of skills are required for college and workplace readiness."

The district did not look at high school math in isolation, Goetz said, but looked at it as part of a continuum with middle school and college.

A middle school task force has developed a common curriculum that includes pacing guidelines aligned with Illinois Learning Standards. Teachers are also using common curriculum materials to support a new focus on pre-algebra, she said.

At the high school level, pacing guidelines for algebra 1-2, geometry and algebra 3-4 are aligned both with Illinois Learning Standards and ACT college readiness standards.

This spring and summer, 35 algebra teachers have volunteered to pilot ACT Quality Core end-of-course assessments that will reveal how well the new curriculum is aligned to the ACT, Goetz said. Middle school math assessment processes and procedures will also be reviewed.

Goetz also outlined a number of "future steps" in math reform at U-46. Along with increased support for special education and English Language Learners math students, the district needs to learn more about meeting the social and emotional needs of our students, she said.

"I hear so many students comment on how high school really wasn't that hard -- they just sort of breezed through," said board member Joyce Fountain, an Elgin Community College professor. "Students need to be challenged… and continually reminded of (math's) relevance."