Personalized Tutoring,
Guaranteed Results!
(281) 306-4112
Call Club Z! Katy
For Your Free Consultation
Math - TEKS Standards
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards are not the same as the Common Core State Standards, adopted by more than 40 states. It is actually illegal to teach Common Core in Texas. But even in a state that said an emphatic -No!- to Common Core, the new math standards here are pretty similar to the standards the state rejected, experts say. Across the Lone Star State, parents are asking what is the difference between TEKS standards and our old standards. We thought we would explain with a side-by-side comparison.
Elementary School Example
| Previous Math Question | TEKS Math Question |
|---|---|
| Each shirt costs $4. How much do 3 shirts cost? | Each shirt has 6 buttons. How many buttons are needed to make 7 shirts? |
| This question can be answered by a “count-all” strategy, in which you don’t need to know your multiplication tables by memory to get the right answer. | This question requires automatic recall of multiplication tables to get at the right answer. |
Middle School Example #1
| Previous Math Question | TEKS Math Question |
|---|---|
| Donna buys 40 apples at 35 cents each. She eats 2 apples and sells the rest for 45 cents each. How much money does she make? | Donna buys some apples at 35 cents each. She eats 2 apples and sells the rest for 45 cents each. She makes $4.40. How many apples did she buy? |
| This question only requires use of simple arithmetic. | This question requires use of an algebraic equation. |
Middle School Example #2
| Previous Math Question | TEKS Math Question |
|---|---|
| A bird flew 20 miles in 100 minutes at constant speed. At that speed, how long would it take the bird to fly 6 miles? | A bird flew 20 miles in 100 minutes at constant speed. At that speed: (a) how long would it take the bird to fly 6 miles? (b) How far would the bird fly in 15 minutes? (c) How fast is the bird flying in miles per hour? (d) What is the bird’s pace in minutes per mile? |
| This question requires one calculation, using a formula. | This question requires a series of calculations and reasoning. It measures if students understand why the formula works. |
High School Example
| Previous Math Question | TEKS Math Question |
|---|---|
| If 3(y-1) = 8, then what is y? | What are two different equations with the same solution as 3(y-1) = 8? |
| This question is an example of solving equations as a series of mechanical steps. | This question is an example of solving equations as a process of reasoning. |
Article Source: Hechinger Report