TRANSCRIPT:
One of the keys to moving education forward in Georgia is to ensure that we always remain child-focused and classroom-centered.
We can never look past the daily challenges facing our students and teaching professionals in the classroom.
One of the greatest challenges that they have faced for the past several years is in the area of math. Too many waivers are being submitted regarding students who struggled with the integrated math, or transferred from another school that used the traditional/discrete math approach.
I am happy to announce that, together with the Governor's Office and State Board of Education, we are set to allow our schools to offer integrated or traditional/discrete math courses, which includes allowing separate tests for each.
I believe our students deserve the very best standards, and the proposed revisions to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards are a step in that direction.
Still, public concerns remain, and we must address those concerns.
We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater, but Georgia must retain the authority to make changes to the standards as necessary.
Like our Governor and State Board, I am committed to seeing that our standards for science and social studies should be Georgia-owned and Georgia-grown.
Thank you. This is Richard Woods, Georgia's State School Superintendent.
