Changes to NC school math requirements, standards set for vote

The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote Thursday on new math standards for all grade levels, including removing Math 3 and Math 4 in high school.

Official response and confirmed impact

The changes aim to make math more relevant to students, especially as they lose interest in older grades.

The state Department of Public Instruction surveyed teachers about the existing standards and found far less satisfaction among teachers in the higher grade levels.

The draft standards are designed to better engage students in math.

When the draft standards were first proposed, DPI leaders told News they worried that students losing interest in math as they get older is cutting too many of them off prematurely from math-related careers; at the same time, they hear from more employers about a growing need for employees with certain math skills.

North Carolina is among more than 20 states reworking the way they teach math as the United States continues to lag behind other developed nations in math.

Many of those states are working with the Charles A.

Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin to adjust the standards, and the Center has emphasized creating new pathways for high school students to structure their math classes.