Fifth in a series
Re “At the Core of Common Core, Always Circling Back to Why?”
[img]2264|right|Dr. Krumpe||no_popup[/img]Asst. Supt. Katie Krumpe says that a shifting of math courses for middle school-age students “probably will be the most apparent change” with the introduction of the massive Common Core concepts next school year.
“The United States has not competed well, internationally, in mathematics, and so this was one of the answers” determined by the federal government, she said.
“Algebra I has been moved back to grade nine. When I look at the algebra course, though, it is much different from before, hugely rigorous. It also has Algebra II in it. When I look at what now is called grade seven math, grade eight math, they are teaching concepts I didn’t learn until Algebra I. They are being taught to seventh graders at a very high rigor level. In eighth grade, it really does mirror a lot of what I believed was Algebra I when I was in high school.
“The Algebra I course is far more rigorous than what kids even today are taking. The new Common Core Algebra I is more rigorous.
“We have a job and a plan,” says Dr. Krumpe, first-year administrator in Culver City who came here from the South Bay, “in talking to our parents so they understand that if their child is enrolled in grade eight math, they are not behind. For the past decade, we have communicated with them that if you were not in Algebra I in grade eight, you were behind. That will be the most apparent change in Common Core.”
The Common Core standards that formally will be adopted next school year “will affect all classes, all subjects,” Dr. Krumpe said. “Even for language arts, there are literacy standards for science social students, career tech education. The complex reading tests and the writing that students have to do is not just the sole job of the English teacher. That is not a huge shift.”
A priority of ahead of next year’s gigantic changeover is preparation of the teacher fraternity. “There is a lot of professional development,” Dr. Krumpe said. “We are working with all of our teachers to make sure they feel comfortable with the changes.”
