The mathematical educational system in the

United States
Cezar Lupu1
1 Department

of Mathematics
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

August 21 2015, Campulung-Muscel

Overview of the American educational system

From kindergarten through high school, the mathematics
education in public schools in the United States has historically
varied widely from state to state, and often even varies
considerably within individual states.
With the recent adoption of the Common Core Standards by 45
states, mathematics content across the country is moving into
closer agreement for each grade level.
Although there are no federal standards, 45 states have agreed to
base their curricula on the Common Core State Standards in
mathematics beginning in 2015.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
published educational recommendations in mathematics education
in 1991 and 2000 which have been highly influential, describing
mathematical knowledge, skills and pedagogical emphases from
kindergarten through high school.

Overview of the American educational system

The United States differs from most other countries in that
mathematics is generally separated by topic at the high-school
level. Two years are devoted entirely to algebra and one year
entirely to geometry. (A few states, such as New York and more
recently Georgia, follow an integrated curriculum, as in other
countries.) The algebra-geometry-algebra sequence is followed by a
course often called pre-calculus for college-bound students.
Pre-calculus usually combines advanced algebra (or Algebra 3)
and geometry with trigonometry and other topics in preparation for
a course in calculus, which is taken in the 12th grade at high
school or the first year of university studies. The age at which the
algebra-geometry-algebra sequence begins varies according to
locality and student ability.

Overview of American educational system

Near the end of the 20th century, diverse and changing ideas about
the goals and methods of mathematical education led to wide
adoption of reform-based standards and curricula funded by the US
federal government, and also adopted by other national curriculum
standards. These were based on research emphasizing the
importance of conceptual learning, student-centered learning
methods and equity in mathematics as the centerpieces of the
standards based education reform movement.
The goals for educators since the 1990s have been expanded in the
context of systemic standards based education reform in the
United States and other nations to promote increased learning for
all students. It is a goal to achieve equity and success for all
groups in society, as it is no longer acceptable to many in the
education community that some have been historically excluded

Overview of American educational system

from the full range of opportunities that are open to those who
have access to the most advanced mathematics.
In standards based education reform all students, not only the
college-bound, must take substantive mathematics. In some large
school districts, this means requiring some algebra of all students
by the end of junior high school, compared to the tradition of
tracking only the college-bound and the most advanced junior high
school students to take algebra.
Controversy still continues as critics point out that Common Core
standards does not fully prepare students for college. Another issue
with mathematics education has been integration with science
education. The value of the integration is that science can provide
authentic contexts for the math concepts being taught and further,
if mathematics is taught in synchrony with science, then the
students benefit from this correlation.

Some opinions
Michio Kaku is an American futurist, theoretical physicist and
popularizer of science. Dr. Kaku is a Professor of Theoretical
Physics at the City College of New York. He has written several
books about physics and related topics, has made frequent
appearances on radio, television, and film, and writes extensive
online blogs and articles.
Kaku has had more than 70 articles published in physics journals
such as Physical Review, covering topics such as superstring
theory, supergravity, supersymmetry, and hadronic physics. In
1974, Kaku and Prof. Keiji Kikkawa of Osaka University
co-authored the first papers describing string theory in a field form.

Some opinions

United States of America Mathematical Olympiad

The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO)
is a highly selective high school mathematics competition held
annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has
served as the final round of the AMC series of contests. The
United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad
(USAJMO) was introduced in 2010 to recognize top scorers based
on their AMC10-based index. Qualifying for the USAMO is
considered one of the most prestigious awards for high school
students in the United States, with only 264 students qualifying in
2013 out of over 350,000 students competing. Top scorers on the
USAMO are invited to the Mathematical Olympiad Summer
Program to represent the United States at the International
Mathematical Olympiad.

Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program

The Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (also called the

Mathematical Olympiad Program, MOP, MOSP, and MOsP) is an
intensive summer program held at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
or Carnegie Mellon University . The main purpose of MOP, held
since 1974, is to select and train the six members of the U.S. team
for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Students
qualify for the program by taking the United States of America
Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). The top twelve American
scorers from all grades form the black group.

Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program

MOP is divided into four groups that roughly correspond with the
first four kinds of invitations. Black MOP consists of that years
USAMO winners and contains the IMO team members and
alternates. The approximately eighteen next highest American
scorers among students from 11th grade and under form the blue
group. In 2004, the program was expanded to include
approximately thirty of the highest-scoring American freshmen and
sophomores each year, the red group; this was later split into two,
forming the green group, which consists of approximately fifteen of
the highest-scoring freshmen and sophomores who have qualified
through the USAMO, and the red group, which consists of those
who have qualified through the USAJMO.
Each Weekday consists of three instructional sessions: 8:30 AM
10:00 AM, 10:15 PM 11:45 PM, and 1:15 PM 2:45 PM. Classes
usually consist of a lecture followed by a problem set. Solutions are
often presented by students with the supervision of an instructor.

Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program 2015

This year the 2015 Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program

directed by the Mathematical Association of America was held at
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh between June 7-July 1. The
camp is run by Po-Shen Loh (CMU) who serves as the US team
leader for the IMO with the help of last years deputy leader Razvan
Gelca (Texas Tech University) and many other Ph.D. students
from UC Berkeley, CMU, Stanford University, MIT, Harvard,
University of Virginia or University of Pittsburgh. Moreover, Noam
Elkies (Harvard University) will be this year guest lecturer.

Va multumesc!!!
Sper ca nu v-am plictisit atat de tare!