About Idaho Math Initiative

In 2007, the Idaho Legislature allocated $350,000 in seed money for the State Department of Education to develop the Idaho Math Initiative with the goal to improve math education in all grades so we can ensure every student is prepared for higher levels of math in the middle grades, high school, and post-secondary and work-force settings. The Math Initiative committee, made up of educators, school administrators, parents, math education experts, and representatives from the business community and Legislature, focused on three key areas for the initial phase of the Math Initiative in the 2008-2009 school year: Student Achievement, Teacher Education, and Public Awareness.

Student Achievement

The state will continue to administer the ISAT and Direct Math Assessment (DMA) to measure student performance in math. The DMA will be administered for another year in its current form until the State Board of Education's Assessment Review Committee makes a recommendation regarding the future of this open-ended assessment. The Math Initiative committee supports open-ended, performance-based assessments, which show the processes students are using to reach the correct answer.

In the 2008-2009 school year of the Math Initiative, the Department will pilot a new assessment for grades K-2 since many schools currently do not have a measure for student performance in math in the early grades right now. The state plans to fully implement the new assessment in the following school year if the pilot is successful. The subcommittee to develop this new assessment is being assembled and will meet in early 2008. The goal of the Math Initiative regarding assessments is to work with the State Board of Education to review current K-12 student assessments and make recommendations to ensure authentic assessment practices are used to measure growth in mathematics understanding and performance.

The Math Standards subcommittee is diligently working on defining and designing standards that are aligned with national standards as well as meeting business and postsecondary expectations and addressing the increased graduation requirements. The standards will be presented to the State Board of Education early next year.

Teacher Education

The Idaho Math Initiative focuses strongly on professional development to give teachers in Idaho the tools they need to raise student achievement in math across all grades. As part of the Math Initiative, the state will develop a three-credit core course that all math teachers, including elementary teachers, and school administrators will be required to take by 2015 in order to recertify. There will be an option to test out of the course. The State Department of Education is also working to develop a Math Specialist Certificate for teachers who specialize in math. During the implementation of the Math Initiative, the State Department of Education will ensure teachers have the resources they need close by. The state will train six regional math specialists who can provide professional development and continued support to teachers locally.

Public Awareness

Public Awareness will include pieces directed at parents, students, teachers/administrators and the community at large. The Math Initiative has its own Web site, run by the State Department of Education, in an effort to keep the public fully informed about the goals, objectives and impact of the Idaho Math Initiative.