Blending Algebra and Geometry Is Slowly Gaining Favor

Some experts contend that blending algebra and geometry allows more students to learn high-level math in high school and college, according to an article in The Hechinger Report.

Integrated math makes up only a fraction of high school math courses nationwide. A 2023 report from the Center for Education Market Dynamics noted that  about 16 percent of districts offer integrated math either alone or as an option alongside the traditional Algebra I-geometry-Algebra II (AGA) progression.

More districts have adopted integrated math since the time of that report. The nationwide effort to update high school mathematics for postsecondary education and today’s workforce is one factor driving integrated math.

The Launch Years Initiative at the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin is helping 27 states rework their transition from high school to postsecondary mathematics, mainly by offering more math options to students than the algebra, geometry, precalculus and calculus courses that have dominated high school math for decades. 

Blending algebra and geometry courses can open students’ schedules for other courses like data science or statistics, concepts relevant in everyday lives.  Students take integrated math in ninth and 10th grade and then have the option of pursuing different math paths in 11th and 12th grades. 

Maryland, one of the states working with the Dana Center, is rolling out a two-year course of integrated algebra and geometry that will be required statewide beginning in the fall of 2027. State leaders hope integrated math bolsters student achievement — only 30 percent of high schoolers scored proficient in math on the most recent state exam. 

Maryland now expects students to be ready for college-level math by 11th grade, which means condensing “the most essential content and concepts” from Algebra I, geometry and Algebra II into the first two years of high school, says Lyndsey Brightful, the director of mathematics in the division of instructional programs at the Maryland State Department of Education.

After students have completed two years of integrated math, Maryland will offer them multiple pathways of rigorous, college-level math courses beginning in 11th grade, including calculus, college algebra, data science and statistics.

“Higher-level statistics is advanced math, data science is advanced math,” Brightful says. “For students who are going into humanities majors, or even in some cases students who are going into nursing or business majors, they need to have strong math application skills or statistics skills, so pursuing other math pathways is still advanced.”

Because integrated math can cover a range of math topics over different time frames, states like Maryland only offer two years; other districts offer three or four years, depending on whether students choose to take calculus. 

Mike Spencer, secondary math specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, cites the state’s move to three years of integrated math a decade ago as contributing to Utah students’ consistently strong math performance on both the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the ACT. 

Many educators find aspects of integrated math frustrating. Students may not be getting the message that higher-level traditional math like trigonometry and calculus is still essential for college STEM majors, especially at selective schools.

“The kids who come to my class and are weak in trig, they struggle,” says one teacher. “For the non-STEM students, integrated math is probably great, you get a better understanding of how everything relates to each other. I don’t think it serves kids who’re going into STEM.” 

Some states, including high-performing Utah, are revisiting their integrated math requirement. Even some teachers are questioning it, says Spencer, the secondary math specialist. The state education agency will survey secondary teachers on the integrated model compared to the traditional math sequence and report back to the board of education on its findings.

In North Carolina, which also has a three-year progression, the state board of education is revisiting integrated math, looking into a possible two years of choice to make more time for statistics and data science. Attitudes are slowly shifting away from the “race to calculus,” says Emily Hare, the director of pre-K-12 math at the state board of education

“I think that we have proven that the integrated pathway can work. I also think that some folks think that it’s a little more different than what it is,” Hare says. “Sometimes, yes, you can mix algebra and geometry, but it’s not like we’re teaching different math. It’s just teaching it in a different order.” 

The Hechinger Report