Georgia overhauls K-12 math standards

Georgia will be changing how students are taught math after a previous overhaul of learning “standards” that confused many parents.

The Georgia Department of Education recruited teachers to rewrite the state’s K-12 math standards in 2019, but the effort was disrupted and delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey by the agency that year found that parents had a hard time helping their children with math under the standards in place then, which called for different steps than when they were young.

The goal was to introduce standards at more age-appropriate times while streamlining them and making them easier to understand.

The standards dictate the state’s expectation of the knowledge and skills students should acquire in each grade level, with success measured by the annual standardized tests known as the Georgia Milestones.

The Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics praised the overhaul in an Aug. 18 letter to the state Board of Education.

“Teachers have expressed they like the new format of the standards,” the letter said.

The state board approval of the new standards on Thursday will trigger teacher training this school year, with implementation in classrooms likely next school year.

The new standards:

K-12 Mathematics Standards (gadoe.org)

The old standards:

K-5: https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Pages/Math-K-5.aspx

6-8: https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Pages/Math-6-8.aspx

9-12: https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Pages/Math-9-12.aspx

About the Author

Ty Tagami

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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