Mathematics education in New York in regard to both content and teaching method can vary depending on the type of school a person attends. Private school math education varies between schools whereas New York has statewide public school requirements where standardized tests are used to determine if the teaching method and educator are effective in transmitting content to the students. While an individual private school can choose the content and educational method to use, New York State mandates content and methods statewide. Some public schools have and continue to use established methods, such as Montessori for teaching such required content. New York State has used various foci of content and methods of teaching math including New Math (1960s), 'back to the basics' (1970s), Whole Math (1990s), Integrated Math, and Everyday Mathematics. How to teach math, what to teach, and its effectiveness has been a topic of debate in New York State and nationally since the "Math Wars" started in the 1960s. Often, current political events influence how and what is taught. The politics in turn influence state legislation. California, New York, and several other states have influenced textbook content produced by publishers. The state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

has implemented a novel curriculum for

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. The courses ''Algebra I'', ''Geometry'', and ''Algebra II/Trigonometry'' are required

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

s mandated by the

New York State Department of Education The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration o ...

for

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

2007-present

Algebra

This is the first course in the new three-year curriculum. It was originally "Math A," but was replaced with "Integrated Algebra." In 2009 when Common Core was adopted, "Algebra I" replaced "Integrated Algebra" and is still in use today. Students learn to how write, solve, and graph

equation In mathematics, an equation is a formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for example, in ...

s and

inequalities Inequality may refer to: Economics * Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups * ...

. They will also learn how to solve

systems of equations In mathematics, a set of simultaneous equations, also known as a system of equations or an equation system, is a finite set of equations for which common solutions are sought. An equation system is usually classified in the same manner as single e ...

, as well as how to simplify

exponent Exponentiation is a mathematical operation, written as , involving two numbers, the '' base'' and the ''exponent'' or ''power'' , and pronounced as " (raised) to the (power of) ". When is a positive integer, exponentiation corresponds to re ...

quadratic equation In algebra, a quadratic equation () is any equation that can be rearranged in standard form as ax^2 + bx + c = 0\,, where represents an unknown (mathematics), unknown value, and , , and represent known numbers, where . (If and then the equati ...

exponential function The exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by f(x)=\exp(x) or e^x (where the argument is written as an exponent). Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, a ...

polynomial In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. An exa ...

radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, and rational expressions. Other topics included are

probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an Event (probability theory), event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and ...

and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

. Some schools divided Algebra 1 into a two-year sequence. The students who receive it begin with Algebra 1A, and will cover the rest of the Algebra 1 topics in Algebra 1B in the next school year. Typically, most students are placed in Algebra 1 which covers all lessons rather than splitting them. At the conclusion of the one-year course, students take the New York State Regents Exam. The first administration of this exam was in June 2008.

Geometry

This is the second course in the new three year curriculum. It replaced part of "Math A" and part of "Math B"

Geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

concepts such as

right triangle A right triangle (American English) or right-angled triangle (British), or more formally an orthogonal triangle, formerly called a rectangled triangle ( grc, ὀρθόσγωνία, lit=upright angle), is a triangle in which one angle is a right an ...

s are introduced. The course also covers topics including

perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

and

parallel lines In geometry, parallel lines are coplanar straight lines that do not intersect at any point. Parallel planes are planes in the same three-dimensional space that never meet. ''Parallel curves'' are curves that do not touch each other or inters ...

triangles A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non-collinear ...

quadrilateral In geometry a quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon, having four edges (sides) and four corners (vertices). The word is derived from the Latin words ''quadri'', a variant of four, and ''latus'', meaning "side". It is also called a tetragon, ...

s, and transformations. At the conclusion of this one-year course, students take a New York State Regents exam in Geometry. The first administration of this exam was in June 2009.

Algebra II

This is the third and last course of the new three-year curriculum. It replaced the elements of "Math B" not covered in geometry. This course covers concepts of advanced

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...

, and as well prepares students for

pre-calculus In mathematics education, precalculus is a course, or a set of courses, that includes algebra and trigonometry at a level which is designed to prepare students for the study of calculus. Schools often distinguish between algebra and trigonometr ...

and

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

. In 2016, the Board of Regents removed some of the

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...

concepts and lessons from the course, and the Regents exam has been renamed from "Algebra 2/Trigonometry" to "Algebra II". At the conclusion of the one-year course, students take the New York State Regents exam for Algebra II. This is the last Regents exam in mathematics students could take. Like the former "Math B" Regents, it is considered one of the hardest High School Regents examinations, along with the Physical Setting/Chemistry regents and the Physical Setting/Physics regents. The Algebra 2/Trigonometry exam was given from June 2010 through January 2017 and the new Algebra II Exam has been given since June 2016.

2001-2009

Math A (former course)

Math A replaced the former "Course 1" curriculum which focused solely on the topic of

, while Math A covered a whole range of topics. After algebra, students would take Geometry in the 10th grade and Algebra II in the 11th grade. In Math A, students learned to how write, solve, and graph

s and

. They learned how to solve

, quadratics, as well as

, and rational expressions. Other topics included are

and

. Geometric concepts such as

s are also introduced. The course works in conjunction with

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

's Standards for Mathematic

One course lasted three semesters, after which students took the Regents Math A Examination.

Math A/B (former course)

Math A/B took the place of the former "Course 2" curriculum, which focused almost solely on

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

, while Math A/B focused on a whole range of topics. Math A/B served as a bridge between the Math A and Math B courses. Math A/B stayed true to its geometric roots, as the first half of the course covered topics such as

and

s, and transformations. After their first semester, students took the

Math A

Regents exam In New York State, Regents Examinations are statewide standardized examinations in core high school subjects. Students are required to pass these exams to earn a Regents Diploma. To graduate, students are required to have earned appropriate credit ...

. June 2008 was the last administration of this exam. For the second half of the year, students would begin Math B. They covered

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

geometric figures Lists of shapes cover different types of geometric shape and related topics. They include mathematics topics and other lists of shapes, such as shapes used by drawing or teaching tools. Mathematics * List of mathematical shapes * List of two- ...

, and an introduction to

Math B (former course)

Math B was required to receive a High School Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. The course replaces the former "Course 3" curriculum, which focused almost solely on

. Math B focused on a whole range of topics. It was taken after the student has completed and passed Math A. A Regents exam was taken at the end of the -year course. The Math B Regents was often considered one of the most difficult New York State Regents. Math B covered concepts that can be found in

and advanced

, and prepared students for

and

and reviewed past topics. During their year of study, students learned different

theorem In mathematics, a theorem is a statement that has been proved, or can be proved. The ''proof'' of a theorem is a logical argument that uses the inference rules of a deductive system to establish that the theorem is a logical consequence of th ...

s, graphed complex

number A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers c ...

s and

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

s, as well as reviewed topics such as

s, systems of inequalities, and

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

s. As the year progressed, students were expected to relate these functions to the real world, create

conjecture In mathematics, a conjecture is a conclusion or a proposition that is proffered on a tentative basis without proof. Some conjectures, such as the Riemann hypothesis (still a conjecture) or Fermat's Last Theorem (a conjecture until proven in 19 ...

s through their own

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

, and begin a

classroom A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...

discussion about these topics. At the end of their studies, they would take the

Math B Regents Examination. The last administration of this exam was in August 2010.

Changes proposed in 2004

In November 2004, the Mathematics Standards Committee made a report to the Board of Regents

about the State's requirements for high school graduation as related to mathematics. The committee recommended that: *The curriculum should return to its old format as a one-year course with a Regents exam taken at the end of the year, with the new exam to be administered no earlier than June 2007. Math A would have its name changed to Integrated Algebra. *In addition to the current Regents exam at the end of the Math B course, there should be another Regents exam, at the end of the first half of Math B study (currently Math A/B), to be administered no later than June 2006, bringing the total number of Regents exams to three. *The course's name should be changed to ''Geometry'' for the first half of the course, and ''Algebra II and Trigonometry'' for the second half of the course (currently Math B). Integrated is only used in the new Algebra course. **The State of New York has announced that these changes will be implemented in the 2009/10 scholastic year. *In 2009, Integrated Algebra was switched to Algebra 1, due to the common core adoption. The move was praised by many who thought the changes to the original draft curriculum were unnecessary.

Pre-2002

Sequential Mathematics

Prior to the 2001-2002 school year, the New York State Board of Regents mandated a three-year Sequential Mathematics series divided into three Courses I, II, and III.

References

Mathematics' Standard Committee's recommendations

External links

Official website of textbook developerNew York State Department of EducationNew York State Department of Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Instructional TechnologyMath Help and ResourcesJMAP - Free resources for teachers Regents preparation site for New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathematics Education In New York Education in New York (state)

2007-present

Algebra

Geometry

Algebra II

2001-2009

Math A (former course)

Math A/B (former course)

Math B (former course)

Changes proposed in 2004

Pre-2002

Sequential Mathematics

See also

References

External links