Eric.ed.gov – NCTM Principles and Standards for Mathematically Talented Students

The “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics” published in 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) created a vision of mathematical concepts and processes to establish core educational guidelines for instruction from grades K to 12. The overall plan does emphasize higher level thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that were traditionally advocated for gifted learners but the implementation of this vision continues to fall short when serving mathematical talent. With the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), less able math students are provided with support and alternative instruction to meet the proposed standards. Little has been done to identify and serve highly capable students until the high school level. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an understanding of talented mathematical students and to learn how the NCTM “Principles and Standards” can be modified to provide support for these students. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 5 resources.)