The Georgia state board of education has approved a high school mathematics curriculum modeled after the Japanese approach to teaching math.
In a unanimous vote May 12, the board adopted the math curriculum for grades 9-12, which was recommended by the Georgia Department of Education and a 38-member statewide advisory committee on high school math.
With the new curriculum, students will be taught topics in an integrated way rather than as separate subjects, such as algebra, geometry, and calculus, said Claire D. Pierce, a math program specialist for the education department. What’s more, students will be required to master a level of math equivalent to Algebra 2 before they graduate, she said.
The integrated approach will begin this coming school year with 6th graders. The new high school curriculum will debut in the fall of 2008.