Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Big Ideas Learning Introduce Rigorous New Mathematics Program for Common Core

BOSTON--Global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), in collaboration with Big Ideas Learning, a renowned mathematics instructional materials provider, today introduced Big Ideas Math 2014 – a Common Core-aligned math series that presents a focused, coherent, and rigorous approach to instruction.

Big Ideas Math 2014 is aligned to the newest progression documents that form the Common Core State Standards for math. To reach Common Core proficiency, students must show a progression of skills that develops year over year. The pedagogy behind Big Ideas Math is designed to help sequence the Standards and provide coherence to each topic.

“Big Ideas Math 2014 provides the conceptual building blocks that help to develop a deeper understanding of math concepts,” said Denise McDowell, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Big Ideas Learning. “It challenges students to think critically about what is in front of them, rather than complete a simple, static problem.”

Enabling teachers to gauge student achievement, Big Ideas Math also builds in student assessment. The program embeds preparation for Common Core testing in the online test practice, activities, exercises, in-book assessments, standardized test practice, and ExamView, a test generator created to help prepare students for assessment.

Furthermore, new features in the teacher’s edition incorporate detailed support for standards, including full context around each standard as it exists in the material. The program offers multiple development opportunities so teachers can feel confident in their mastery of Common Core-specific topics.

“As the exclusive distributor of Big Ideas Math, we are excited to offer a program that empowers teachers to inspire students through Common Core instruction,” said Jack Shira, VP, Product Management & Strategy, Curriculum Solutions, HMH. “This program is ideal because it enables students to be lifelong scholars of math and increases achievement.”

The Big Ideas Math program has already made an impact this year, as one book in the series – Big Ideas Math: A Common Core Curriculum Algebra 1 – was named the 2013 Most Promising New Textbook by The Text and Academic Authors Association. Created last year, The Most Promising New Textbook award recognizes current textbooks and learning materials still in their first editions.