Fourth-Year Capstone Course Criteria Introduction
The American Diploma Project (ADP) research has found students must master a common core of knowledge and skills in order to be prepared for success in postsecondary education and the world of work. In mathematics, this content—as represented in the ADP Benchmarks—reflects expectations typically found in a rigorous course sequence that includes courses such as Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry, or their equivalents, as well as considerable data analysis and statistics. While some students will require all four years of high school to complete this rigorous course of study, many will complete this work in their second or third year. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Achieve, ACT, the College Board, and others recommend that all students study mathematics in each of the four years they are enrolled in high school. Research has shown that a fourth year of mathematics study in high school is positively associated with higher scores on the ACT and SAT exams, as well as lower postsecondary remediation rates.
For students intending to pursue postsecondary training or careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, some excellent advanced fourth-year mathematics courses already exist. These include ACT’s rigorous precalculus course, for which ACT has recently published a model course syllabus, Advanced Placement Calculus, and International Baccalaureate’s Higher Level Mathematics. These courses are often well-aligned with the rigorous mathematics courses students will encounter upon entering college.
There remain, however, a significant number of high school students who may be more interested in a contextualized form of instruction in their senior year or are not yet ready for the demands of a traditional precalculus or calculus course. In the past, many of these students have opted out of mathematics beyond Algebra II or its equivalent. These students would benefit greatly from an alternative capstone experience—one that maintains and extends prior mathematical knowledge, enhances the application of process skills, encourages the development of academic discipline and a positive attitude toward learning mathematics, and connects mathematics with varied student interests. These courses will keep students engaged in learning and ensure a seamless transition to further education and the workplace.
It is the goal of this project to provide policymakers and educators with criteria that they may use to develop and evaluate alternative capstone course curricula. We have also provided links to and descriptions of a number of fourth-year capstone courses that are currently in use or under development. We hope that, in time, additional capstone courses will be identified, evaluated, and shared through this website.