Beginning this school year (2014-2015) Turlock Unified School District only offers one math class for all 7th graders, Integrated Math 7, and one math class for all 8th graders, Integrated Math 8.

There are two main reasons why we need another math option in the middle grades right now.  The first is that the wide range of mathematical knowledge among students in one classroom is not allowing all students to progress through new concepts and have enough rigor.  The second reason is that the current pathway that students will follow through high school will not give accelerated students the opportunity to take the same advanced math classes and exams as their peers in other school districts.

Students who were in an accelerated math class or group in previous years are no longer being challenged, nor provided with a rigorous curriculum, nor, in many cases, learning any new mathematical concepts in the newly reformatted 7th and 8th grade math classes.  At the same time, there are students in these classes who are being challenged and learning something new.  The range of mathematical knowledge and abilities among all 7th and 8th graders is too great to accommodate in just two classes, one for 7th graders and one for 8th graders.

In addition, if accelerated students continue through high school along the planned sequence of math classes, they will not be able to take advanced math classes and exams in time to allow them to be competitive for admission to some universities.  The SAT Subject Math 2 exam requires more than three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and elementary functions (precalculus) or trigonometry or both.  With the current plan for math classes at the high school level, students would not be able to complete all of these classes until the end of senior year, which is too late to take the SAT Subject test and use it for college applications.

The solution is simple.  Offer an accelerated 7th grade math class that compresses both the 7th and 8th grade common core standards into one year.  Then offer an accelerated 8th grade math class that is Common Core Math I.  Students who successfully complete Common Core Math I as 8th graders can begin high school with Common Core Math II, followed by Common Core Math III, Pre-Calculus and Calculus.  A quick search online will show that there are many school districts in California that are choosing to implement the common core math standards in this, or a similar, way.

By offering two different pathways for students to follow, the district will be able to ensure that ALL students can be presented with a math curriculum that challenges them with depth, rigor and conceptual learning.