Implications of Mathematics Standards on Geometry Education in New York State

This dissertation examined the changes of Geometry Education in New York State in connection with the differences in the New York State Mathematics Standards (1999, 2005, 2011). As a result of this analysis, a theoretical framework was created to support teachers in making the shift from teaching towards the 2005 learning standards to teaching towards the goals of the Common Core Standards (2011). Once created, the theoretical framework served as the basis of the development of a collection of problems on various topics in geometry used by teachers in their geometry classrooms. This document can be found in the Appendix of this dissertation. As seen in the past, curriculum, standards, and assessment are all intertwined and reflect one another. In order to bridge the gaps and explore relationships between these components, this research compares the various New York State Mathematics Standards to determine differences in topical coverage as well as an analysis of the New York State Geometry Regents examinations under the 2005 standards and Common Core Standards. Additionally, the research builds on these results and also analyzes select New York State Regents Examination questions in specific topics. This study used the information gathered to create a collection of problems based on certain principles to support teachers in adequate preparation of students for the Common Core Geometry Course. Teachers found the principles provided to be very useful in creating their own problems for additional topics, and found the collection of problems to be very helpful in the teaching and learning of geometry to their students.