New Jersey has adopted "standards" for what a student at each grade level "should know and be able to do" in all subjects. They are posted on the NJ Department of Education website (http://www.state.nj.us/education/). The Standards for Math are organized under five major strands: Number & Operations, Geometry & Measurement, Patterns & Algebra, Data Analysis, Probability & Discrete Math, and Mathematical Processes (Problem Solving, Reasoning, etc.).
The NJ Standards, along with NJ ASK/GEPA, emphasize problem solving, inquiry-based instructional strategies and open-ended problem solving (i.e., problems with multiple possible correct solutions or solution strategies) at every grade level. Under the current NJ Standards, there is much less emphasis on isolated pencil / paper calculation or computation than there was several years ago.
