CHAPTER 35: Enhancing Mathematics Teaching in the Context of the Curriculum and Professional Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

This article briefly reviews the curriculum and professional standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). These standards have driven and directed curriculum development, teaching, evaluation and professional development in mathematics since their publication in 1989. This article provides readers with an overview of the curriculum and professional standards for mathematics.

Inherent in the standards is a consensus that all students need to learn more, and often different, mathematics and that instruction in mathematics must be significantly revised. The need for standards for school mathematics is clearly evident in that they ensure quality, indicate goals, and promote change. The NCTM considers all three reasons equally important. Schools, and in particular school mathematics, must reflect the important consequences of the current reform movement in mathematics if students are to be adequately prepared to live in the 21st century. Today’s society expects schools to ensure all students have an opportunity to become mathematically literate, are capable of extending their learning, have an equal opportunity to learn, and become informed citizens capable of understanding issues in a technological society.