Rockdale County Public Schools administrators described a number of curriculum changes coming down the pike, including moving away from the integrated or “new” math, at the Board of Education work session Thursday night.

The system and the state began moving towards a K-12 common core curriculum, now adopted by 47 other states/territories, about 10 years ago. RCPS aims to implement the Common Core Curriculum Georgia Performance Standards in the next school year, 2012-2013.

“The game is changing as to what we teach and how we teach,” said Chief Academic Officer Richard Autry.

As part of that, RCPS will teach math in a more discrete form rather than the integrated “new math” that was rolled out in 2008.

Earlier this year, the Georgia Department of Education announced systems could choose between the integrated or discrete math approach.

However, in October, the Ga. DOE also announced state resources would go to the discrete math approach because that was part of the CCCGPS. Autry said RCPS wold have to go the discrete route as well, to take advantage of DOE resources.

 “But this is not your old algebra,” Autry cautioned. He said the CCGPS math classes in high school would be more rigorous and more integrated than the “traditional” math model.

“The real change is in the title. It’s a title that parents understand,” said Autry.

Current textbooks would still be usable and the training teachers went through to learn how to teach integrated math would still be applicable, he said. “We’re not going back to the beginning.”

Autry said students currently in integrated math would likely be grandfathered in.

“If you started in integrated, to start in one approach and change mid stream is not a sound approach,” he said. “I do see a stair-stepping back in.”

The CCCGPS reportedly allows clearer comparison of student performance in Math, English/Language Arts, and Literacy in History/Social Studies Sciences throughout the country, explained Autry. It would also allow international comparison, since the CCCGPS shares international benchmarks.

States/territories that have not adopted a Common Core Curriculum are Minnesota, Virginia, Texas, Nebraska, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, according to www.corestandards.org.

Georgia is also one of 24 states part of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, which has its own reporting requirements, to be implemented by 2014-2015 school year.

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(Nov. 10, 8:51 p.m.) IN BRIEF:  Rockdale County Public Schools administrators described a number of curriculum and system changes coming down the pike at the Thursday night Board of Education work session. As part of those changes, RCPS will likely be heading to a discrete math curriculum of sorts after receiving word from the Georgia Department of Education that state resources would be put towards discrete math as part of the common core standards it is pursuing. RCPS is currently teaching an integrated, "new math" curriculum.

 - RCPS, as one of 26 Georgia school districts receiving part of the federal Race to the Top grant, will also begin pilot program training in January 2012 for new teacher and leader evaluations that takes into account student and class performance. About $700,000 of the $2.35 million received by RCPS will be set aside for monatery incentives tied to the evaluations.

Check back later to www.rockdalenews.com for the full story.