Delivering Well Prepared Teachers Policy
Massachusetts relies on both coursework and standards for its general curriculum test as the basis for articulating its requirements for the mathematics content knowledge of elementary teacher candidates.
Massachusetts specifies coursework requirements regarding the following mathematics content: numbers and operations, functions and algebra, geometry and measurement, and statistics and probability.
The state has also articulated elementary teaching standards that its new general curriculum test, with a separately scored mathematics subtest, must address; these standards also cover numbers and operations, functions and algebra, geometry and measurement, and statistics and probability. Sensibly, Massachusetts specifies that candidate learning in these topics must meet the needs of elementary teachers. The state also requires that "candidates shall demonstrate that they possess both fundamental computation skills and comprehensive, in-depth understanding of K-8 mathematics. They must demonstrate not only that they know how to do elementary mathematics, but that they understand and can explain to students, in multiple ways, why it makes sense."
Massachusetts was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.