High School Math Requirements
If you have students who are currently in a high school mathematics class or if you will have a student enrolling in 9thgrade next year, I would like to make you aware of the high school mathematic requirements that are set by the Utah State Board of Education. The Utah State Board of Education requires three credits in mathematics for all 9-12 grade students. You may have heard discussions in the last few years either for or against the Common Core in mathematics. According to State Board Rule R 277-700-6 the Utah Board of Education establishes the core standards and core curriculum for students in grades 9-12. The curriculum standards are not set by the local Garfield County School Board instead they are approved at the State level. The Utah State Board of Education adopted the Common Core standards in math and language arts in 2010. For more information on the Utah Common Core or the implementation you can select the following web page http://www.utahpublicschools.org/
In order for a student to graduate from high school in the State of Utah, they must have Math I as a freshman, Math II as a sophomore and Math III as a junior or senior. Students are basically locked into the Math I and Math II courses. However, there is the option to “opt out” of Math III if it is requested by the parents. Parents can sign an “opt out” form requesting for their students to take an alternative course such as accounting, computer programing, modern math, etc. For a complete list, please visit with your high school counselor.
An additional option to Math III is Math 1010. Math 1010 is a concurrent enrollment course which means students receive both high school and college credit for the course. For a student to enroll in Math 1010 they must have an 18 on the ACT. Which means if a student will be a junior next year and would like to opt out of Math III, to take math 1010 they must take the ACT before school starts in August. If a student is going to take the ACT they can go to the practice website http://www.shmoop.com/utah/. Contact your counselor for the log in password.
If a student receives a C grade or better in Math 1010, they can enroll in Math 1050. If a student does not take Math 1010 they must have a 23 on the ACT to enroll in Math 1050. Please note, if a student would like to apply for the Regents Scholarship they must enroll in Math III. Students can also take Math 1010 and Math 1050 as a senior if they have the required ACT scores. If you have questions concerning the options for high school students in mathematics, please contact your local high school Principal.
I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to complete the parent survey on the District web page. The results from the surveys will be distributed to the School Board, administrators, and teachers. If you have not completed the survey, it is open until March 7.
–Superintendent Ben Dalton
