Proposed Changes
Below are the revised proposed student expectations as suggested to the Texas Education Agency in June of 2009. Minor edits to previously posted expectations include replacing "societal issues" and "social decisions" with "everyday situations," clarifying that "bias" refers to statistical bias and that "fairness" refers to mathematical fairness, rewording Knowledge and Skill statement 11, and combining expectations 11A and 11C into a single statement now shown as 11A. At their July 2009 meeting, the Texas State Board of Education will consider for final adoption the proposed expectations for this course as submitted to them from the Texas Education Agency.
June 2009 Proposed Changes (pdf 112kb)
Materials
Course outline with student expectations (pdf 100kb)
Frequently asked questions document (pdf 1mb)
Student information sheet (pdf 420kb)
Overview of instructional materials (pdf 210kb)
Additional resources related to fourth-year math (pdf 104kb)
Newsletters
Read our newsletters to stay up to date about the many dimensions of the developing fourth-year course for Texas students, including its upcoming pilot.
April 2009 (pdf 1.3mb)
Related links
Achieve/Dana Center information on fourth-year/capstone mathematics courses
University of Arizona's Institute on Mathematics and Education report on fourth-year mathematics
Background and research related to early Texas discussions on fourth-year math (from 2006)
A proposed mathematics course to follow Algebra II and prepare all students for college or the workplace
Summer 2009 Professional Development Dates (for participating pilot schools only):
- Dallas area (Plano ISD)—June 16-18
- Houston area (Clear Creek ISD)—July 21-23
- San Antonio area (Northside ISD)—July 29-31
- Austin area (Austin ISD)—August 5-7
Download the letter of commitment (pdf 84kb) and the site choice sheet (pdf 36kb).
For information on participating as a pilot school during the 2009-10 school year, email amdm@austin.utexas.edu.
Advanced Mathematical Decision Making (AMDM) is a mathematics course that follows Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. Students benefit from studying mathematics every year, and in Texas and a growing number of other states, students will be required to complete four years of mathematics as part of increasing graduation requirements (in Texas, the "4-by-4" requirement). The course will be piloted in the 2009-2010 school year; it will be available for full implementation beginning in 2010-2011.
AMDM is an engaging and rigorous course that prepares students for a range of future options in non-mathematics-intensive college majors or for entering workforce training programs; it may also be an appealing elective for students pursuing precalculus and calculus. The course emphasizes statistics and financial applications, and it prepares students to use algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and discrete mathematics to model a range of situations and solve problems.
The Charles A. Dana Center, in partnership with the Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics, has developed a course outline (pdf 100kb) with student expectations, a Frequently Asked Questions document (pdf 1mb), and a student information sheet (pdf 420kb) for students considering enrolling in the course. As part of this initiative, free downloadable instructional materials will be available for course implementation in the 2010-2011 school year. (Click here for an overview of instructional materials (pdf 210kb).) A comprehensive system of professional development and support is also planned.
AMDM will be piloted in a limited number of schools during the 2009-2010 school year. Pilot sites agree to make certain commitments, since materials and support will be modified based on the pilot year. Schools interested in participating in the pilot should contact the Dana Center at amdm@austin.utexas.edu.
Project staff have compiled a list of additional resources (pdf 104kb) that may be of interest. These materials, however, are provided only as background; they are not expected as part of the implementation of the course.