NCTM Standards

  • NCTM's Standards publications present a vision of appropriate mathematical goals for all students. This vision is based on the assumption that all students are capable of learning mathematics, and it's at the heart of the NCTM's efforts to bring high-quality mathematics learning experiences to all teachers and students.


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    Principles and Standards  
    Principles and Standards for School Mathematics outlines the essential components of a high-quality school mathematics program. It emphasizes the need for well-prepared and well-supported teachers and administrators, and it acknowledges the importance of a carefully organized system for assessing students’ learning and a program’s effectiveness.


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    View Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (1989)

    Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making
    Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making is a conceptual framework to guide the development of future publications and tools related to grades 9–12 mathematics curriculum and instruction. It suggests practical changes to the high school mathematics curriculum to refocus learning on reasoning and sense making. This shift constitutes a substantial rethinking of the high school math curriculum, advocating for more and better mathematics.  


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    View Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (1989)

    Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (1989)
    What mathematically literate means in a world with expanding technology and where mathematics is rapidly growing and is extensively being applied in diverse fields


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    Professional Standards (1991)

    Professional Teaching Standards (1991)
    A broad framework to guide what teaching should entail, including what teachers need to know to teach toward new goals for mathematics education and how teaching should be evaluated for the purpose of improvement


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    Professional Standards (1995)

    Assessment Standards (1995)
    Criteria for student assessment and program evaluation through the process of gathering evidence about a student's knowledge of, ability to use, and disposition toward, mathematics and of making inferences from that evidence to improve understanding and learning


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    View An Agenda for Action (1980s)

    An Agenda for Action (1980s)
    Eight recommendations from 1980 that were the catalyst for mathematics standards and analysis and development of new curriculum and assessments


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