Hamilton Math Curriculum Getting a $195,000 Upgrade

The Hamilton School Board has approved spending nearly $200,000 on changes to kindergarten through 12th grade math curriculum in order to provide more rigor to advanced and proficient students while providing more assistance to basic level students.

By adopting the new standards by next year, administrators said it will better prepare students to have a deeper understanding of math concepts by the time they reach eighth grade.

“One of the big initiatives is to prepare more students to be ready for algebra by eighth grade,” said John Roubik, director of educational services and human resources. “The common core standards that have been adopted by the state of Wisconsin have a deeper, more rigorous tone to them.”

The changes to math curriculum, approved last week, will cost $112,033 for kindergarten through fifth grade, $24,302 for sixth and seventh grades, $33,898 for eighth and ninth grade, and $24,970 for junior and senior levels.

With the changes in the 2011-12 school year, advanced level students will begin taking sixth-grade level everyday math in fifth grade, McDougall Little Course 3 math in sixth grade and algebra concepts in seventh grade. The students will continue to take algebra in eighth grade and geometry in ninth grade.

Students deemed proficient in math skills will continue to take everyday fifth-grade math in fifth grade, but will take McDougall Littell Course 2 math in sixth grade, Course 3 in seventh grade, algebra concepts in eighth grade and continue to take algebra in ninth grade.

Basic students will continue to take fifth grade everyday math in fifth grade and STAR math in sixth, seventh and eighth grade, but will take algebra A and B in ninth grade as opposed to algebra concepts.

Students will be identified as advanced, proficient and basic by various measures, Roubik said, such as teacher recommendations, Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination test scores and other test scores.