When he first started teaching high school algebra at Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School, Jason Ovalles heard a familiar question from his students.

"'Why are we doing this?' You know? And the eventual answer was, it was basically just like, you need to know this to graduate, because you need to know this to pass the Regents,” he said.

Then he started using a curriculum called Illustrative Math, which he’d previously used in a middle school. Instead of demonstrating an equation and handing out worksheets, he poses a complicated question, and students work in groups, with his help, to solve it.

“We're teaching you how to think and how to, how to like, reason through things. How do you hear what somebody else is saying and kind of use your brain to figure out, does that make sense or does that not? And if it doesn't make sense, how do I argue against it?” Ovalles said. “Especially the students that we teach, that's way more useful and something that they can take away.”

The lessons are problem-based. Rather than having students copy a teacher to solve a simple equation, one lesson available online asks students to use an equation to help plan a party, using letters to represent the cost of a main dish or dish, and the number of them needed, and then creating an equation to determine the cost of the party. 

Ovalles is a master teacher through the group Math for America, which provides professional development to math teachers. Math for America president Maria Klawe says there are benefits to standardizing curriculum, but it can be hard for teachers, many of whom have developed their own materials and methods. She said among the fellows using the curriculum, reaction has been mixed.

“I think that there is a general consensus that it's a good curriculum. I think there are teachers who would prefer not to be told what curriculum they have to use,” Klawe said.

The city began mandating the curriculum in 260 high schools last year, including the transfer high school where Meredith Klein, another Math for America master teacher, taught students who had either previously left school or were behind on credits. 

“We were told that it needs to be taught exactly as written, and I felt extremely depressed by that, to be honest, and really worried for my students,” Klein said.

Klein said the curriculum wasn't written with students like hers in mind, and assumed prior knowledge they did not have. Over the course of the year, teachers were told they could ease up on how strictly they followed it.

“What we keep being told is that we're building the plane as we're flying it. And I just think, like, my question is why?" Klein said.

One controversial aspect of the curriculum is a pacing calendar meant to keep teachers on track. 

“They’re asking for things to happen way too quickly, and teachers are rightfully being like, that's, this is not going to fit my students,” Ovalles acknowledged.

Both teachers noted the curriculum is not aligned to the Regents exams students must pass to graduate, requiring them to make changes or offer classes focused on test prep.

The city's Department of Education says no curriculum is perfect, but this is one well-regarded by a range of experts, and that they'll listen to educator feedback.

All high schools will use Illustrative Mathematics, unless they're given an exemption — and so far, those have only been given to six of the city's specialized high schools.

The city is also standardizing the curriculum for middle schools, but superintendents will be given a list of approved curriculum options they can choose from at the middle school level, which will include Illustrative Mathematics.