Common Core Algebra 1

Algebra I Overview

The content standards associated with Algebra I are based on the New York State Common Core Learning Standards for Mathematics and the PARCC Model Content Framework for Algebra I. The content standards define what students should understand and be able to do at the high school level; the Model Content Framework describes which content is included and emphasized within the Algebra I course, specifically.

For high school mathematics, the standards are organized at three levels: conceptual categories, domains and clusters.

Algebra I is associated with high school content standards within four conceptual categories: Number & Quantity, Algebra, Functions, and Statistics & Probability. Each conceptual category contains domains of related clusters of standards. This chart shows the high school mathematics domains included in Algebra I, as well as the corresponding percent of credits on the Algebra I Regents Exam:

Conceptual Category	Percent of Algebra I Regents Exam Credits	High School Mathematics Domains Included in Algebra I
Number & Quantity	2% - 8%	The Real Number System (N-RN) Quantities (N-Q)
Algebra	50% - 56%	Seeing Structure in Expressions (A-SSE) Arithmetic with Polynomials and Rational Expressions (A-APR) Creating Equations (A-CED) Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities (A-REI)
Functions	32% - 38%	Interpreting Functions (F-IF) Building Functions (F-BF) Linear, Quadratic, and Exponential Models (F-LE)
Statistics & Probability	5% - 10%	Interpreting categorical and quantitative data (S-ID)

The conceptual category of Modeling is also included in Algebra I, but is best interpreted not as a collection of isolated topics but rather in relation to other standards.

Content Emphasis

Not all of the content in a given grade is emphasized equally in the standards. The list of content standards for each grade is not a flat, one-dimensional checklist; this is by design. There are sometimes strong differences of emphasis even within a single domain. Some clusters require greater emphasis than the others based on the depth of the ideas, the time that they take to master, and/or their importance to future mathematics or the demands of college and career readiness. In addition, an intense focus on the most critical material at each grade allows depth in learning, which is carried out through the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Without such focus, attention to the practices would be difficult and unrealistic, as would best practices like formative assessment.

The Regents Examination in Algebra I test will mirror the organization of the standards: Major Clusters will account for a majority (58% - 73%) of the credits on the test, while Supporting Clusters (18% - 30%) and Additional Clusters (5% - 17%) will together constitute less than half the possible credits.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standards for Mathematical Practice form an important part of the Algebra I course, as well:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.