New Jersey Student Learning Standards & Assessment

Intent and Spirit of the Mathematics Standards

For more than a decade, research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have concluded that mathematics education in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country. To deliver on this promise, the mathematics standards are designed to address the problem of a curriculum that is "a mile wide and an inch deep."

The math standards provide clarity and specificity rather than broad general statements. The standards draw on the most important international models for mathematical practice, as well as research. The standards not only stress conceptual understanding of key ideas, but also continually return to organizing principles (coherence) and the laws of arithmetic to structure those ideas.