The Impact of Curriculum Focal Points on State Mathematics Standards

Abstract

State mathematics standards from six states were analyzed to determine the impact of Curriculum Focal Points on recent revisions. The standards were analyzed to determine the alignment between the state documents and Curriculum Focal Points. In particular, a comparison of the framework used in each state standards document was compared to the framework used in Curriculum Focal Points, and the content within the state mathematics standards, as represented by the grade level expectations for Grade 5, was compared to the content within Curriculum Focal Points. The results were used to compare state standards for consistency between one another and to determine what changes, if any, had occurred from standards developed prior to the release of Curriculum Focal Points to standards developed after the release of Curriculum Focal Points.