State Board now can wade back into eighth grade math debate | EdSource Today

State Board now can wade back into eighth grade math debate | EdSource Today:

State Board now can wade back into eighth grade math debate - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

By ‘ajaxofsalamis’

The State Board of Education will be able to disentangle competing math standards that have been creating confusion over what should be taught in eighth grade, under a bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

SB 1200, written by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and the Department of Education, will remove one of many hurdles that the state and districts are facing to meet the fall 2014 target for implementing the Common Core standards. But for advocates of continuing the decade-long promotion of Algebra I instruction in eighth grade, SB 1200 is creating anxiety.

Two years ago, with limited options and an impending deadline, the State Board adopted the national Common Core math standards, with a