January 2008
Dear Shoreline Families:
Dear Shoreline Families:
Washington and many other states across the United States are engaged in
meaningful and focused conversations on the topic of K-12 mathematics
standards, curriculum and assessment. During the 2007 legislative session
last spring, Washington lawmakers called for a review and a revision of the
state’s K-12 mathematics standards.
At the end of August, the Washington State Board of Education concluded its work of reviewing the current standards in mathematics. A complete copy of the recommendations can be found at www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/WAFinalRecommendationsMath8-30.pdf
In response to the State Board of Education’s independent review, in October 2007 the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) announced the selection of the Charles A. Dana Center for Mathematics and Science Education affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin to assist OSPI in the K-12 mathematics standards revision process. OSPI is required to present the revised standards to the State Legislature by Jan. 31, 2008. A copy of the current draft standards is available at www.utdanacenter.org/wamathrevision/
Following formal adoption of the revised standards, the next phase of this process is the legislative requirement for the state to choose three mathematics “curricula” for elementary, middle and high school levels. These recommendations are to be presented to the State Board of Education by May 15, 2008.
The final step in this process will be a decision on the assessment tools the State will use to measure student achievement toward the new standards. Last spring the Washington State Legislature delayed passing the math WASL as a graduation requirement until 2013. It did, however, mandate that students take math each semester until they pass the WASL or graduate.
The coming months will offer an exciting opportunity for the Shoreline educational community to review and evaluate our current mathematics curriculum for alignment with the newly-revised standards. As a former high school math teacher in Shoreline, I look forward to this process. There is no doubt that we can and must do a better job of providing all students with the necessary mathematics skills and background for our competitive world.
The Shoreline educational community is up to this challenge!
WASL math comparison of Shoreline with other districts
This chart, sorted by percentage of free and reduced price lunch, shows how Shoreline compares with other Puget Sound area school districts for students meeting standard for the math WASL in 2007. This chart also includes data on enrollment, ethnicity, and English Language Learners programs.