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Mathematics Assessment Standards for High School Graduates

The purpose of this document is to describe mathematics performance standards for California high school graduates. Many high school graduates lack minimum mathematical skills and abilities needed for success in the workplace or in college. This document discusses standards-based reform of mathematics in California, including assessment and standards, and makes recommendations for improving student achievement.

The California Education Round Table consists of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Chair of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Chancellor of the California State University, the President of the University of California, and the Executive Director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission. The Round Table strives to increase collaboration among California’s public and independent education sectors.

In 1995, the Round Table agreed on a set of collaborative initiatives to improve learning of students in kindergarten through college. The Round Table recognized that there should be more emphasis on instruction in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics in order that students are prepared for postsecondary education and the workplace without the need for remediation. One initiative called for a system to measure core knowledge, skills, and understanding. A Round Table Task Force published a report in February 1997, Standards in Mathematics and English for California High School Graduates, that described the mathematical skills and abilities appropriate for high school graduates. The mathematics content standards include six topics:

• number sense;
• symbols and algebra;
• measurement and geometry;
• functions;
• data analysis, and;
• mathematical reasoning.

The next step was to develop performance standards that describe the extent to which graduates master that content. A performance standards task force first met in June, 1997 to identify existing mathematics assessment instruments and to define the level of performance appropriate for high school graduates. The task force responded to its charge by defining mathematics performance standards and surveying existing mathematics tests with statewide significance.

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