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Frequently Asked Questions:
How can parents stay informed and get involved? How can parents stay informed and get involved?
Our current high school mathematics textbooks, Contemporary Mathematics in Context (Core Plus), were adopted ten years ago. The books have been well used, are falling apart, and are not the current updated versions. Of greater significance, the state has recently adopted new mathematics standards and our students will be required to pass end of course assessments in order to graduate from high school. In addition to advancing the district’s mission to prepare our students for college and beyond, it is critical that the materials used in the Bellevue School District address these standards and prepare our students for these tests. With these goals in mind, our high school math teachers came together this fall to begin the math textbook adoption process. How does the textbook adoption process work? October-November, 2008 -- High school math teachers met to identify stakeholders, values and critical considerations to guide the adoption process January-February, 2009 -- A subcommittee of teachers representing each of the high schools and teacher-representatives from special education and ESL met to develop a scoring rubric for the purpose of selecting textbooks to pilot. Initially 19 potential programs were considered and reviewed against state standards. Eight programs reasonably aligned with these standards. The subcommittee reviewed these programs in depth and ranked them on criteria including the balance of procedural skills (skills, facts, and procedures), conceptual development (making sense of mathematics) and problem solving (using mathematics to reason, think, and apply mathematical knowledge); accessibility for all students; and student learning experiences that reflect current research on learning mathematics. The subcommittee recommended five programs for teachers of high school mathematics to review and score. March, 2009 -- All of the high school math teachers were given the opportunity to review and score the selected texts. Teachers came together to review the results and at that time recommended unanimously to pilot Holt Algebra 1/Geometry/Algebra 2 and Key Curriculum Press Discovering Algebra/Geometry/Advanced Algebra. Spring, 2009 & Fall, 2009 -- Pilot lessons from these materials and collect assessment data and feedback from teachers, students and parents. Spring, 2010 -- Make a textbook adoption recommendation to the Instructional Materials Committee and the Board of Directors. Fall, 2010 -- New high school math textbooks will be in the hands of students. What has been the level of teacher participation and collaboration in the process? While instructional materials matter, it is our teachers that make math come alive for students. These professionals are spending hours meeting as a group of the whole and in smaller subcommittees to ensure that we select a textbook that serves our students well. Nearly every high school math teacher whose students will be affected by the adoption has participated at some level and they are all excited about moving forward into the pilot phase of the process. What courses and grade levels will this textbook adoption affect? Integrated Math Topics 3 [typically 8th grade] and Integrated Algebra/Geometry 1 [typically 9th grade] Honors Integrated Algebra/Geometry 2 [typically 9th grade] Honors Integrated Algebra/Trigonometry 3 [typically 10th grade] What was the state’s math work? July, 2008--- K-12 Math Standards adopted. January, 2009 --- 2008 High School Mathematics Core Comprehensive Materials Review & Recommendations Report-Initial Recommendations was released by the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI) How was the state math work used in the process? We are planning to pilot two of the texts that were rated
highest on the initial recommendation of the Office of the Superintendent of
Instruction (OSPI) 2008 High School Mathematics Core Comprehensive Materials Why did Bellevue School District choose Discovering and Holt to pilot?
What is the State Board of Education's role in curriculum? From the State Board of Education Website: "The legislature required the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to recommend up to three math curricular programs each for elementary, middle and high school. The Board is required to "provide review and formal comment on proposed recommendations" to OSPI regarding math curricula. The Board's Math Panel and independent consultant, assisted in the review of recommendations and reviews done by OSPI on the curricula programs. The Board received its consultant’s review of the K-8 math curriculum and provided feedback to OSPI in November 2008. OSPI provided its final recommendations for a K-8 curricular menu in December 2008. The Board received its consultant’s review on the high school curriculum and provided feedback to OSPI in March 2009. The Board also received reviews from Guershon Harel and W. Stephen Wilson. OSPI provided its final recommendations for a high school curricular menu in May 2009. This report, along with its initial findings, is available here." From the State Board of Education Website: "No. Although OSPI and SBE may recommend certain math programs, the local school district is entrusted with choosing the best curriculum for their students." How is Bellevue School District using the two reports addressing mathematical soundness? The conclusions of the two reports addressing mathematical soundness, the OSPI Mathematical Soundness Report and the Strategic Teaching Report (the Board consultant), were markedly different. The State Board of Education noted the disagreement between the two reports and recommended that additional work be done to reconcile the two different reviews of mathematical soundness in their March Meeting Notes (page 10). The BSD Adoption committee is following the recommendation of the State Board of Education to use the 2008 Mathematics Instructional Materials Review Final Recommendations Report as a reference. |
