“Giving every student what they need” is a common saying among Newton Public Schools (NPS) leadership and School Committee members. This spring’s revision of the NPS middle school math program illustrates how complex that can be in practice. As the school year ends, the district has generally executed what it said at the beginning of the year was its intention: to begin a multiyear process of revising the math curriculum and increasing rigor. However, the details of putting that into practice have been the subject of public debate this spring, including an assessment test given to 7th graders in April on which only 36 students – out of 720 who took the exam – scored well enough to be placed into accelerated 8th grade math.
Among academic subjects, math often strikes a chord as a barometer of achievement, both individually and systemwide. While the district’s MCAS scores in math have been consistently at the higher end of statewide scores, the current NPS leadership team has prioritized revising the NPS math curriculum. Dr. Nolin said in a start-of-school-year interview with Fig City News that math “sets the tone for all the other curriculum reviews.”
The Plan
The “Math Pathways” curriculum plan was unveiled in depth at the September 24 School Committee meeting. Intended to begin for middle school 6th graders, the plan includes 3 years of transition for the district, as well as varied course offerings through 12th grade. A centerpiece is introducing Algebra 1 (a 9th grade course per DESE’s “traditional standards”) in 8th grade. According to an August 2025 report prepared for NPS, authored by The Polynera Foundation and discussed at the September 24 School Committee meeting, “Achieving mastery of Algebra I by eighth grade is a key milestone on the path to college readiness and STEM careers; it also provides a clear intermediate metric of district success.“
Although that 38-page report contained many analyses across several categories and benchmarks, as well as significant language regarding Newton’s positive attributes, one section of it noted that Newton was last among 15 peer districts in rigor (as measured by exposure to high school math topics) for 8th grade course offerings going into this school year. Peer districts according to the report were determined by cities with comparable academic outcomes and family educational levels. Newton ranking last on this particular metric became both a rallying point for families advocating for Math Pathways resources in public comments for this spring’s budget, as well as a target for disagreement by other commenters who noted their children’s positive math experiences at NPS.
The Curriculum
Even for this writer (having reported on NPS for over four years and having gained some familiarity with education jargon), researching this math curriculum article felt at times like an English speaker trying to learn an Asian tonal language. Phrases like integrated curriculum, accelerated math, Math 1, and ‘standards’ had varying substantive meanings depending on context.
For example, the assessment test for acceleration given to all 7th graders this spring was called an “Algebra Readiness” test, but it included questions on geometry, statistics, and other topics. The non-accelerated 8th grade math course next year (“Math 8”) will still have 9th grade topics, which adds rigor compared to this year’s NPS Math 8. However, although DESE does not track exact statistics, many reports cite a preponderance of Massachusetts 8th grade students learn some math units that are classified by DESE as 9th grade. So next year’s non-accelerated 8th grade will still be accelerated…but at a level of acceleration that matches what could be construed as a commonly-paced curriculum. Then Math 8 starts over at “Integrated Math 1” in 9th grade. “1” is more advanced than “8” in this context. It’s plausible the jargon barrier has prevented some constituents from fully understanding, and therefore trusting, the changes presently being implemented.
Further, Newton utilizes an “integrated math” curriculum, whereas most peer districts use the traditional Algebra-Geometry-Algebra II (“AGA”) curriculum. Dr. Nolin told Fig City News:
“The goal of integrated is to blend the different branches of mathematics (algebra, geometry, statistics, and trigonometry) into a single, cohesive curriculum. Instead of teaching these subjects in isolated, year-long courses, integrated pathways teach them concurrently…to connect [concepts] to each other and to real-world problems. This is the interdisciplinary approach …many private schools use to create innovative application-based environments. But neither approach wins the day. Good teaching, consistent curriculum, and honest assessments do.
The majority of districts across the country follow the traditional pathway of Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2. Newton follows the Integrated pathways called Math 1, Math 2, and Math 3. Both pathways ultimately teach the same standards over three years, just in a different order and configuration.”
The DESE math standards contain options for both traditional and integrated curricula.
A February 2 math presentation to the School Committee illustrates the curriculum distinctions providing the public with a full update to the work the district had done since the September 24 meeting. Significantly, this presentation also previewed the math placement test that would be given to NPS 7th graders in April.
The Test
On March 10, NPS convened a meeting of 7th grade parents at Brown Middle School auditorium to present the district’s plans for an assessment test given to all 7th graders on April 29 (with an opt-out option for any family that did not want their child taking the exam). The presentation also contained information about next year’s curriculum for all 8th graders, and additional math support for struggling students. After the district’s presentation, typical comments from audience members began with “I’m glad you’re improving math, but…” and raised questions or concerns about the single placement exam.
Dr. Nolin told Fig City News:
“The test was developed by our math teachers and the Math Director using consultation from [Renaissance DnA], a tool that allows you to create assessments from a high quality item bank of vetted, prescreened, and validated questions. It was then shown to all of the middle school math teachers at a citywide meeting, and two additional eighth grade teachers provided specific feedback as to item selections.
We chose questions using the grade 8 standards with a focus on the priority standards: Expressions and Equations, Functions, Geometry and Statistics. We chose all Depth Of Knowledge [level] 2 or 3 questions with only one question with Depth Of Knowledge 1. We also…increased complexity when possible. For example, instead of “select the two correct answers” we changed it to “select all the correct answers.” We did not want the assessment to consist solely of calculation questions or formula applications.”
The March 10 meeting materials and associated documents state multiple times that the test would determine which current 7th graders would take Integrated Math 1 (9th grade math) next year in their 8th grade. In hindsight, it now appears obvious that the placement test was a “skip-year” test, rather than an assessment of general math aptitude. Throughout the year, however, a typical parent reading the large volume of presentation materials may have had to infer this conclusion.
This dynamic may have contributed to what was widely observed as the community’s surprise when only 36 students passed the April 29 exam, consisting of 16 questions administered on each student’s Chromebook computer.
This is Part 1 of a two-part Fig City News series on NPS Math Pathways.
Ed. Note: The original publication of this article referred to the Polynera math report as “commissioned” by NPS, however page 1 of the report states it was prepared pro bono. This article has been updated.