Core-Plus Mathematics Project

The Core-Plus Mathematics Project is one of the five NCTM-standards-based high school mathematics curriculum development projects funded by the National Science Foundation. The project has developed, tested, and published (Glencoe/McGraw Hill) a four-year comprehensive high school mathematics textbook series. The first edition is entitled, Contemporary Mathematics in Context: A Unified Approach. The second edition, to be available Fall 2007, is entitled, Core-Plus Mathematics. The first three years of the curriculum are designed for all high school students, with a fourth year course designed to continue the preparation of students for college mathematics. Core-Plus Mathematics is an integrated curriculum, in which algebra and geometry are taught every year in addition to topics in statistics, probability, and discrete mathematics. The series is intended to replace the common U.S. high school course sequence, in which there are separate courses in algebra and geometry.

Core-Plus Mathematics emphasizes "real-world" applications and teaching and learning mathematics through problem solving, such as in elementary targeted curricula such as TERC and Everyday Mathematics. Several studies have suggested that graduates are less prepared for college level math and more likely to require remedial math than traditional approaches. Other studies have questioned the validity of those results and suggest that Core-Plus is an effective pedagogy.