You probably have received an announcement from the Department of Education concerning proposed State Board of Education action to make Mathematics III Support a core class for two (2) years beginning in school year 2010-2011.  The Board is expected to approve the recommendation at the August board meeting. Details about the proposal were shared during an elluminate session on June 28, 2010.  Because we are not sure how many of you were able to participate in the session, we will attempt to summarize and offer suggestions.

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As a core class, Mathematics III Support is designed to enable at-risk students to be prepared for the new GPS-based Georgia High School Graduation Test.  According to Janet Davis, Mathematics Program Manager from the Department of Education, the course content will include a review of Mathematics I and Mathematics II along with an emphasis on the four elements from Mathematics III that will be tested on the Georgia High School Graduation Test.  Identifying this course as core has the effect of making it one of the four mathematics courses required for graduation for at-risk learners.  Mathematics III Support cannot be the culminating mathematics course; it would need to be followed by Mathematics III or one of the Mathematics IV alternate courses.  This two year change will be extremely beneficial to struggling learners as they attempt to meet the four course requirement for graduation.

We recognize that schedules are complete or very near completion. However, because the new ruling could significantly and positively impact Georgia High School Graduation Test outcomes as well as more reasonable course requirements for struggling learners, it may be worth taking the time to consider your options. With the new Georgia High School Graduation Test in 2010-2011 and the increased annual measureable objective (AMO) for annual yearly progress (AYP), it would be in everyone’s best interest to do whatever is necessary to increase the likelihood of meeting expectations.

• Most schools have already scheduled Mathematics III Support for at-risk learners.  If that is the case, rather than teaching the course as you did with Mathematics I Support and Mathematics II Support running concurrently with Mathematics I and Mathematics II,  you now have the option of offering Mathematics III Support as a stand-alone core course.  Therefore, the Mathematics III Support class could run as scheduled with the new emphasis on Georgia High School Graduation Test preparation.

• Schools that have not scheduled Mathematics III Support due to staffing and budget constraints may want to reconsider now that Mathematics III Support is not elective, but core.

We are sure that the situation is unique to each school.  If you have additional questions or if we can provide further clarification, please contact Susan Halligan ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), Leslie Mills ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or LaTonya Mitchell ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).