MATH CLASS CHANGES

The State of Georgia makes changes to the math curriculum

MILLY MIAO, STAFF WRITER DESIGN: MILLY MIAO, STAFF WRITER

Next year, Georgia schools will be undergoing a change in the math courses from grades kindergarten to 12th grade. The new curriculum will follow Georgia’s K-12 Mathematics Standards, recommended by State School Superintendent Richard Woods.

“The state [has] made changes to K-12 [math]. We [will be moving] from the Georgia Standards of Excellence to Georgia’s K-12 Math Standards. So, students [now] have to master those standards in order to eventually graduate,” principal Martin Neuhaus said. The adaptation to the new standards happened during the last school year and the Georgia Board of Education has since been following a multi-year plan. The board has been preparing, and teachers have been training for full implementation of the standards. The districts will use the next school year to adjust to the new curriculum.

“We, as a district, have a plan in place. We are going to spend next year training on the resources and learn,” Zone 6 Superintendent Brian Downey said. “In the fall of 2024, we can hit the ground with the new standards and come to expect our teachers and our students to be up to speed on the new standards.”

The biggest shift is the alterations of standards. The state decided to reduce the number of standards in the new curriculum. This change was made to minimize the amount of material taught to students each year.

“[The state] condensed the number of standards that are taught in each class,” Jen- nifer Niehaus, head of the math department, said.“Basically, [the state] wanted to make it so students get a better understanding of all the material instead of learning tons of stuff.”

In addition, the state created new standards that require teachers to teach ways to apply math. Compared to the old curriculum, these standards progress to teach how math is used in the real world.

“The goal of the state is that we do more world problems, more applications,” Niehaus said. “[The state] wants more context in the questions so it is more obvious to the students where they can use it in the real world rather than just solving this algebra problem or calculus problem.”

Although teaching ways to apply math outside of the classroom might improve students’ comprehension of real-world relevance, this change may not be as beneficial to students that have a hard time with English.

“For the students who are English language learners, I think [learning these applications] is going to be a big struggle for them,” Niehaus said. “So, if you’re not good at English, and then we give you a test that is 100% word problems, it is going to be hard for us to tell [what] you actually know.”

Moreover, a noticeable change was made to high school math courses. Previously, the old curriculum for accelerated math divided algebra and geometry classes. The subjects were combined and split into two years, so one year, students would take the first half of algebra and the first half of geometry in Accelerated GSE Algebra One/Geometry A Honors and finish the rest of each subject the next year in Accelerated GSE Geometry B/ Algebra Two Honors. The state has revised this for the 2023-2024 school year, changing the classes to one full year of each subject.

“With the new curriculum, it will be one year of Algebra One, then one year of Geometry, and then a year of Algebra Two, which the state is calling Advanced Algebra. So, the [current] accelerated [courses] will no longer be in the curriculum starting in August,” Niehaus said.

These changes, however, will affect students currently taking Accelerated Algebra One/Geometry A Honors. The state is making accommodations that address this concern.

“The biggest adjustment taking place is going to be for students who are in the Accelerated Algebra [1]/Geometry [A],” Assistant Principal Christi Bounds said. “There has to be a little bit of adjustment so students are not missing out on important standards.”

Northview High School has contacted students that are affected by this change, providing them with information and options to continue under the new curriculum.

“We’ve looked at rosters, and we’ve actually talked to parents and students in all of those classes, so they know what all their options are. They have to now decide which path they want to take,” Bounds said. The state offers two pathways that the affected students can take. The first pathway students can choose consists of taking a full year of geometry in the upcoming school year to receive the course credit. This means that the student will take a full year of geometry, relearning the old materials and learning the new materials that were not covered. For the second pathway, the students can choose to take the second half of geometry online in an asynchronous class this semester, or a virtual course over the summer on Fulton Virtual School (FVS) or Georgia Virtual School (GAVS). With this pathway, students do not have to repeat the materials they have already learned and can advance to the following math class in the upcoming year.

“We try to provide some options for this. [This situation is] messy as Fulton County is trying really hard to provide options so students can continue the path they’re interested [in],” Neuhaus said.

Aside from the curriculum change, the state will also be offering AP Precalculus, which is a new AP course created by College Board. Georgia high schools will no longer teach Accelerated Honors Precalculus and instead will offer three precalculus classes: on-level Precalculus, AP Precalculus, and Enhanced Advanced Algebra and AP Precalculus. On-level and AP Precalculus are both one-subject classes taught in one year. However, Enhanced Advanced Algebra and AP Precalculus is a combined course of Advanced Algebra (algebra two) and AP Precalculus in one year. Although this combined course covers the content of two years of math, students will just receive one credit for it on their transcript. This course will be offered to current Accelerated Algebra One/Geometry

A students who receive an unweighted 93 or above during semester 1 and choose the second pathway to complete their geometry credit independently. For students who do not want to do this, they have the option to take Geometry and then one year of Advanced Algebra separately, then take AP Precalculus as a one-year class. Niehaus predicts that not many students will take the Enhanced Advanced Algebra and AP Precalculus class next year as they will have to complete Geometry B on their own. But, after the following year when students have adjusted to the new class changes, more students will want to sign up for this class.

“Depending on how high [the students’] grades are, they move on to Advanced Algebra, or they move on to the enhanced class which is a combination of Algebra Two and AP Precalculus,” Niehaus said. “We don’t automatically sign [the students] up for it just because [there are] options. If [the students] are interested in doing two years of math, we will sign [them] up for it, [but] if [they] do not want to do two years of math and want to go the normal rate, [they] will do Advanced Algebra.”

The Enhanced Advanced Algebra and AP Precalculus course will be a very fast-paced class as students who decide to take this option will be learning algebra two and precalculus in one year.

“I don’t mind the fast-paced learning since I am killing two birds with one stone,” freshman Chole Lin said.

Despite the fact that the class serves as a college-level course, the state of Georgia, and many other schools across the nation, may not be awarding AP credit for the course. Students will have to contact schools and ask if credit will be offered, which will vary from school to school and will likely change over the next year. This new combination of Algebra Two and Precalculus allows more students to take higher-level math courses in high school, such as Georgia Tech math for dual enrollment.

“The reason [the state] would want to do this is because if [current freshmen students] want to get to Georgia Tech calculus their senior year, the only way that particular group can get to Georgia Tech math is by doing this class,” Niehaus said.

The Board of Education is working to make the transition a smooth one with the goal of Georgia schools fully adopting Georgia’s K-12 Mathematics Standards for the 2023-2024 school year.

Highlights Profile

David Simmons,12

MEKAYLA UPTON, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Senior year is when most people start to wonder what they will do for their career. Fortunately, senior David Simmons has known what he wanted to do since the age of five. For almost his whole life, Simmons has played baseball with the intention of transforming it into his profession.

“My dad brought [the sport] onto me young,” Simmons said. “He wanted me to play baseball rather than something like football.”

However, despite not playing football, Simmons did play basketball for three years of his high school career. Through this experience, he was able to reaffirm his desire to focus on his future career in baseball, rather than playing a different sport.

Simmons does not play baseball exclusively for Northview, either. Barring the school team, he has played for other organizations such as Sharon Spring Spartans, Ninth Inning Royals, Team Elite, TG DBacks, and Outlaws as well.

Rather than playing fall ball with Northview, Simmons decided to improve his performance in his position by working on his agility, strength, and speed. This past summer, Simmons played summer baseball with a team outside of Northview. In his time apart from the team, he was able to attend more camps and avoid injuries.

“[Teams] definitely differ through skill level,” Simmons said. “Like my last summer ball team had some really tough guys.”

During his baseball career at Northview, Simmons has had many coaches, one of which was counselor and baseball coach Andrew Alhadeff. Alhadeff was not only Simmons’ coach for these past two years but his junior varsity coach during his freshman year as well.

“He works very hard at his craft when he is on the field,” Alhadeff said. “He is very persistent on wanting to get better.”

Outside of the field, Simmons enjoys spending time with his friends, one of which is fellow senior Joseph Halab. Simmons and Halab have been friends for the past six years. Halab describes Simmons as a determined individual and has witnessed his passion for baseball firsthand.

“[Simmons] hit two home runs the first game I went to,” Halab said. “In the time that I have known him, [Simmons] has gotten more determined in anything he does.”

With the second semester of senior year

captain of Northview Baseball '23

offer from Tuskegee '23

offer from Voorhees '23

starting, Simmons has started to think about his major in college. After much discussion with his teachers, Simmons has decided to pursue either a marketing or computer science degree. However, before he attends a traditional four-year college, Simmons plans on playing Junior College (JUCO) for a year, and later transferring to another school for the rest of his college career.

“[Playing JUCO] is the plan, hopefully just one year, [and] come out throwing 90.” Simmons said.

With offers from schools like Voorhees and Tuskegee Colleges, Simmons is still deciding which college to attend as his senior season at Northview begins. However, after spending many years playing all of the positions baseball has to offer, he is certain that he will play right field in the future. With plans to play Major League Baseball (MLB), Simmons’ decision to play JUCO is common amongst high schoolers who wish to join the MLB.

“[The MLB] is a day-one dream,” Simmons said. “I’m never gonna stop working at it, I think it’s possible.”