During the 2023-24 school year, the Georgia Department of Education implemented new math standards. The 2023-24 Georgia Milestone scores increased from the previous years, which state officials attributed to the change in standards.
Midtown math teacher Carrie Rowe said the new standards- the outline teachers follow in their classes- remained relatively the same.
“The new standards are not much different than the old ones,” Rowe said. “They added a unit on Geometry (midpoint and distance formula, area and perimeter in coordinate plane). They took out a few standards that related to 8th grade (solving equations, slope, graphing lines, etc.). Also, they took out some adding/subtracting polynomials which is now a focus in Geometry. Other than that the standards are very similar, just rearranged.”
Junior Star Valentina Winborn said she saw a clear difference in the classroom with the implementation of the new standards
“The biggest difference I’ve personally seen is the order and the amount of material we’re learning,” Winborn said. “As a result of new standards, teachers have had to switch around some material or even add in more material so that we’re learning at a pace in which we’ll learn everything necessary and use it.”
Rowe believes the math teachers’ collaboration in planning also helps prepare their students.
“I think the Algebra team works well together making sure we are using class time productively and giving students as much time to work on their assignments in class,” Rowe said. “Also, we review previous material a lot throughout the year. We start off the year reviewing 8th grade standards that are important for students to understand a lot of the material in algebra.”
Rowe said her classes start preparing for the exam at the beginning of the school year.
“We use Desmos on everything starting in August so the kids are familiar with it and are very comfortable using it on the Milestone,” Rowe said. “They can use Desmos on the entire Milestone Test so I think that really gives them the confidence going into the test. They always come back to me and tell me how much Desmos helped them on the Milestone. We also really try and push the Honors students to do more challenging and thought-provoking activities to try and push them to be ‘Distinguished Learners.’ For the On-Level kids, we just try and get them to tutorial for additional help.”
Sophomore James Roberts agrees that the extra preparation was very helpful for the exam.
“I felt extremely prepared to take the Milestones the past year,” Roberts said. “I felt prepared because the structure of my class was very organized and I had everything well laid out for me.”
Winborn emphasized how different students learn information best.
“I personally am a heavy visual learner, so I prefer having the teacher not only teach lessons but provide and do examples on the board,” Winborn said.
In addition to the standard change, there were also important changes made to the exam itself.
“I don’t necessarily think the standards caused the improvement,” Rowe said. “The Milestone used to have a no calculator section and an open-ended section but they took those off. Now it’s more questions with drag and drop, fill in the blank, matching, multiple choice, drop downs, etc, and we practice those types of questions all throughout the year with the students on assessments so they are familiar with them.
Roberts feels she learns best when she can actively engage with the teacher, making her more prepared for the Milestone exam.
“I enjoy a teacher who gives us notes and walks us through thoroughly and then lets us practice and ask questions,” Roberts said.
Rowe said over time she has seen gaps in understanding shrink. She attributed this to a well-rounded approach to teaching.
“Every year seems to be getting better with gaps and I don’t see it as much as I did a few years ago,” Rowe said. “I think the key is to keep the kids actively engaged, getting them to work together, and getting them to tutorial. Also consistently using Desmos and reviewing previous material throughout the year. We also spend about two to three weeks reviewing before the Milestone.”
Winborn believes the combination of the new standards and the way her teacher tackled the standards helped with her growth.
“I personally scored a bit higher on the math milestone simply because of the order in which my teacher taught us the standards,” Winborn said. “My teacher taught us the standards in order of how often or soon we’ll use the material which definitely helped.”
