FAQs

Families are encouraged to contact their primary school districts to discuss what math curriculum is offered. While District 99 does not offer courses to middle school students, incoming students are welcome to enroll in summer school to take math courses, including Math 1, prior to their freshman year.

It is correct that District 99 is in the process of determining how (or if) current middle school students will earn high school credit for taking advanced courses. We will notify students and families of this decision by January.

As has always been the case, placement into freshmen year math courses will continue to be based upon a number of factors. We carefully consider not only course grades, but also teacher recommendations and standardized test results, in order to determine the best placement for each student to be successful.

Yes. Students who begin a year advanced or who complete summer school in order to advance will still be able to choose from our AP offerings as seniors. These include: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC and AP Statistics.

We are currently evaluating how we can best meet the new state standards for juniors (Math 3), while also providing them with the greatest opportunity to complete coursework with the potential for earning college credit (i.e. AP courses) as seniors.

Absolutely. The new standards contain a set of mathematical skills that all students are to learn by the end of their junior year. The difference now is that these skills are being developed and practiced through problem-solving exercises and contexts, as opposed to in isolation simply as the skill itself.

In the spring of 2015, students will take the new PARCC assessment, which stands for “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.” At this time, we expect this will replace the PSAE (Prairie State Achievement Examination).

In the PE Office - please see Mrs. Moscato in room 041

• New Locks - $5.00
• Used Locks - $1.00
• New P.E. Shirts - $8.00
• Used P.E. Shirts - $3.00
• New Black Shorts - $10.00
• Used Black Shorts - $3.00

The new standards are similar to the previous ones (the “Illinois Learning Standards”), and still prepare students for college and career readiness as measured by the ACT. In addition, there are some new content standards, particularly in the area of statistics.

The primary difference is that the new standards contain the “Habits of Mind,” as well as fewer overall learning targets. Although there are fewer targets, students must show a deeper and more conceptual level of understanding than in the past.

Our math department chairs suggest the Math Vision Project website as a resource for practice; visit the following link for Math 1 course resources:

http://www.mathematicsvisionproject.org/secondary-mathematics-ii.html

District 99 uses a highly collaborative process to determine the best course placements for students. While the majority of freshmen are placed into Math 1, we consider many other factors that may result in exceptions. Our department chairs work closely with middle school teachers, parents and students, and carefully consider course grades, standardized tests and teacher recommendations to determine the best placement for students to be successful.

One math skill that all high school students must demonstrate is to “solve a quadratic equation by factoring.”

In the past students would be asked: Solve -16t2 + 24t + 7 = 0.

In the new curriculum the problem would look more like this:

The path that a thrown ball follows is h = -16t2 + 24t + 7, where h is the height of the ball in feet and t is the time since the ball was released, in seconds. When does the ball hit the ground?

Students must exercise the “making sense of problems” habit to solve this type of problem. For example, they must first approach the equation and determine if it is quadratic in nature and if factoring is even a viable technique. With the new standards, discerning and analyzing the problem is as much a valuable outcome as calculating to find the correct answer.

Yes. In 2011, we started modifying the way we approach problems and topics in all of our existing courses. We embedded additional critical-thinking exercises and problem-solving scenarios into the courses so that we can foster these habits in all students.

Middle school students should seek support from teachers and administrators at their current school.

To ensure proper placement, math teachers make individual recommendations for all students each year. Students should talk to their teachers about which class is right for them.

We expect that standardized scores on ACT/SAT tests will stay the same or rise in the long-term, because the new standards contain rigorous content aligned to college readiness standards as well as prepare students to be better problem solvers.

Just as the math departments prepared for the new Common Core standards, District 99 science departments are currently working on adapting curriculum to adhere to the new “Next Generation Science Standards.” The math departments are working with the science departments at both schools to ensure continuity, including:

• ensuring that appropriate math prerequisites are in place for science courses;
• integrating instruction on topics that span across both disciplines; and
• having the new math courses support the work of science practices, and vice versa.

A: As directed by the State of Illinois, District 99 is now following new “Common Core State Standards” for math. The standards are robust, rigorous and relevant to the real world—and reflect what students need to know for success in college and in their future careers.

The standards are outlined in detail at http://www.corestandards.org/Math. They have been adopted by Illinois and 44 other states.

Since 2010, District 99 has been working on implementing the new standards into its math curriculum. New courses are debuting in the 2013-14 school year.

No. All students who entered the traditional math track prior to the 2013-14 school year will complete that sequence upon successful completion of each course.

If a student fails a course in the traditional track (and does not enroll and successfully complete summer school), then the student will be placed into the new Common Core curriculum.

Eighth graders taking Geometry during 2013-14 school year represent the last students who will be placed in the traditional math track at District 99.

• If a student is taking Geometry, the student will be enrolled in AAT as a freshman in the fall of 2014.
• If a student is taking Algebra, the student will need to either take Geometry in summer school to enroll in Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry as a freshman in the fall of 2014, or transition into Math 1 and the new sequence of courses.

Yes—the new standards will benefit our students.

The new standards require that students think differently from past practices. A critical and foundational part of the new standards is for students to be proficient in the “Standards for Mathematical Practice” (or “Habits of Mind”).

These ten “Habits of Mind” include:

1. Making sense of problems
2. Persevering when solving problems
3. Reasoning abstractly
4. Reasoning quantitatively
5. Constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others
6. Modeling with mathematics
7. Choosing and using mathematical tools
8. Attending to precision
9. Looking for and making use of structure
10. Looking for and expressing regularity in repeated reasoning

Cultivating these habits will enable students to be better problem solvers and to apply their learning to a variety of problems and situations that will serve them well beyond the math classroom.

No -- there is a great deal of prerequisite content and mastery required in the areas of algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics within the Math 1 course that is essential for success in Math 2.

You should speak with your instructor to schedule a time. However P.E. make ups can be done before school  beginning at 7 am, during another class period or you can check out a heart rate monitor and complete a make up on your own time.  Credit will not be given until the heart rate monitor has been returned.

If you choose to come before school, notify your PE teacher.  You must be on time and dressed for activity.  You will be required to complete a minimum of 30 minutes of activity wearing a heart rate monitor to receive the make up credit.

Our Physics 300 course is an introductory course, so students should have completed or be concurrently enrolled in Advanced Algebra Trigonometry. Physics 300 is typically a student’s third year of science, but may be taken junior or senior year.

Students enrolled in Advanced Placement Physics C:  Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in AB or BC Calculus. Students enrolled in Advanced Placement Physics C: Mechanics (only) are not required to have complete or be concurrently enrolled in Calculus. Both AP courses are designed for grade 12 students and require a recommendation from their previous science teacher.

This is being determined by district administration and the District 99 Board of Education.

Refer to your student handbook for guidelines of appropriate dress at DGN.

There is not a test for entry into Math 2. Student placement into any math course is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, 8thgrade math course and success in the respective course, EXPLORE Math score, and teacher recommendation.

In the real world, problems do not come in a box labeled “Algebra” or “Geometry.” By using an “integrated” approach, students can decide what skills to call upon to solve a particular problem--no matter what the content area. They can use their skills in algebra, geometry and statistics, depending on their analysis and approach to solving a problem.

Our new math courses are based on an “integrated” model to teach this approach to students. For example, Math 1 contains about 60% of the topics that would have previously been covered in Algebra. The remaining traditional Algebra topics are covered in Common Core grade 7 and 8 standards. Other standards that Math 1 addresses are taken from Geometry and Statistics.

Future new courses (Math 2 and Math 3) will contain the remaining Common Core Standards from Geometry, Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry, and Statistics.

The “traditional math track” (algebra, geometry, advanced algebra and trigonometry) is ending with current eighth graders (class of 2018). Subsequent middle school students who complete Math 1 prior to their freshman year and meet the placement criteria will have the option to take Math 2 or Math 2 Honors, a new course being proposed to the Board of Education for implementation in the fall of 2014.

We are not currently planning to offer an Honors version of Math 1, just as we never offered an Algebra 400 (Honors Algebra) class.

While we will no longer use the “200” designation in the new course sequence, we will continue to provide a support structure for those students who need it. That’s why we created two different models of the new standard freshman course: Math 1 and Math 1S.

The content of Math 1 and Math 1S is exactly the same. The only difference between Math 1 and Math 1S is the amount of instructional time a student receives to learn the material. Math 1 is covered in one 50-minute class period; Math 1S is covered in an extended, 75-minute class period. The extended time slows the pace of the course, and allows students to have more individual time with teachers.

We expect to offer Math 2S in 2014-15.

While we will no longer use the “400” designation, we will continue to provide opportunities for advancement in the new math courses as well as to challenge those students who have a passion for and strong aptitude in math.

We expect to offer Math 2H-Honors in 2014-15.

Our math curriculum is approved by the State of Illinois as well as the NCAA.

In addition, performance on standardized tests (PARCC, ACT, SAT, etc.) will serve as clear evidence of a student’s success.