Frequently Asked Questions
IM Certified Curricula
Who authored the IM Certified math curricula?
IM Certified curriculum materials are authored and maintained exclusively by Illustrative Mathematics, a nonprofit organization led by noted mathematician and Common Core State Standards author Dr. Bill McCallum. The Illustrative Mathematics team has extensive experience in creating materials based on years of providing free K–12 materials and resources.
Check out the IM authors:
What is common across IM Certified curricula?
- problem-based approach
- 5 practices framework
- Universal Design for Learning principles
- embedded supports for:
- students with disabilities
- English learners
- extensions for students who are ready for more
- instructional routines
- consistent activity and lesson structure
- practice problem sets with built-in cumulative review
Are the IM Certified curricula core programs or supplemental materials?
Our materials are designed to be used as a core program to support an aligned, coherent progression within and across grades.
It is my understanding that Illustrative Mathematics releases its curricula as OER. What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
OER are freely available materials that can be downloaded, edited, and shared to better serve all students. OER license types vary. Some OER allow free download and use while others also allow adaptation.
How can I know that OER materials are high-quality?
All of the IM K–12 Math curricula are research-driven, problem-based, and fully aligned to college and career-ready standards to ensure teachers have the tools needed to facilitate student success. IM Certified K–12 Math has been reviewed by IM to ensure that it maintains the rigor, scope, and sequence envisioned by the developers and meets the high standards expected by IM’s customers. In fact, EdReports, an independent nonprofit that reviews K–12 instructional materials, found that IM 6–8 Math and IM 9–12 Math certified by Illustrative Mathematics met all expectations across all three gateways for focus, coherence, rigor, mathematical practices, and usability.
What extra supports are available with IM curricula?
- All lessons include built-in supports for English learners and students with disabilities.
- Most lessons have extensions for students who are ready to go more deeply into the mathematics.
- Additional lessons that could be used in an extended block are available for students in Algebra 1 who need more support. Algebra 1 offers a full year of support material that is aligned to the curriculum.
- Family support materials can help families understand the mathematical work that their students are doing.
How long are the lessons in the curriculum?
Each lesson is designed for a 50-minute class period. IM provides guidance for adding or removing material to support the individual needs of teachers with different time frames.
Do the curricula include assessments?
- Yes. The following assessments are included in every unit:
- pre-unit diagnostic assessments
- embedded formative assessments
- practice problems
- end-of-unit summative assessments
- mid-unit assessments (for longer units)
To learn more about additional assessment options, please look into IM’s Certified partners.
How does IM’s assessment design correlate to the design of other widely-administered assessments like SAT, ACT, PARCC, and SBAC?
The assessments included in IM’s curricular materials will assess the same content knowledge as other assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. In designing our assessments, we surveyed item types that are commonly used. As a result, our assessments include multiple choice, multiple response, short answer, restricted constructed response, and extended response item types. The purpose of this choice was to give students opportunities to encounter these item types on summative assessments throughout the year to gain familiarity and comfort. Additionally, we provide scoring rubrics for restricted constructed response and extended response items that mirror the scoring guidance for other widely-administered assessments. More information about assessment design is available in the curriculum teacher guides.
Are the lessons aligned to the standards?
Yes, each lesson is aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Every practice problem is connected to a specific lesson and reflects the same standards alignment.
How did you determine the sequence of the curriculum?
The order of units was designed so that concepts can be developed coherently. Learning is better retained when new concepts are connected to existing knowledge, and a cohesive curriculum can take advantage of that. For example, in grade 6, students investigate the area of a triangle in unit 1 to provide context for writing and solving equations in unit 6. In grade 7, students learn about proportional relationships in unit 2 to support their understanding that pi is the constant of proportionality between diameter and circumference in unit 3.
Why are there units dedicated to supporting work of the grade?
The supporting work of the grade provides students with more opportunity to solidify conceptual understanding and build fluency for the major work of the grade. For example, Unit 1 in Grade 6 is titled Area and Surface Area, which is supporting work of the grade. This unit reviews arithmetic and provides context and application for work in Units 4 and 5, Operations and Fractions.
My district’s pacing is different. Can I teach the units in a different order?
When thinking about a change in unit order it’s important to consider the original flow of the curriculum as much as possible so that various components do not lose impact. For example, distributed practice, pre-unit diagnostics, and end-of-unit assessments can still be used, but slight modifications may be necessary. Procedural fluency is built into the activities and practice problems in a progressive manner as students move through the units. Development of concepts also builds over time through a progression of units and is a consideration when choosing and ordering the units as well. We recommend consulting the Unit Dependency Chart, designed by Illustrative Mathematics, when modifying the order of units.
How do the curricula integrate the standards for mathematical practice?
At the beginning of each lesson, a narrative describes the lesson’s goals and addresses how these goals will be accomplished. A description of the way in which the mathematical practices come into play is included in these narratives.
Do you have any resources for families?
Each unit includes a section called Family Support Materials, which describes the big ideas students will encounter in plain language. These resources provide an overview of the mathematics your student is learning, detail what to expect as the learning deepens, and include questions that promote conversation about the mathematics.
What is the difference between the lesson synthesis and the lesson summary?
The lesson synthesis, included in the teacher materials, provides a five-minute wrap-up to help students review the main points of the lesson. The lesson summary, included in student materials, helps summarize the main mathematical points of a lesson, including any new vocabulary, in student-friendly language. It is meant for students to read on their own time or to catch up after an absence. It can also be used for families who want a detailed understanding of what their student is learning.
Where are IM Certified K–5 Math, 6–8 Math, and 9–12 Math available?
IM 6–8 Math and IM 9–12 Math are available from our Certified partners: Kendall Hunt, Imagine Learning, and Kiddom.
IM Certified Partners
What is IM Certified?
IM Certified assures educators that an IM Certified partner:
- has actively collaborated with IM to enhance the material without negatively impacting outcomes
- strategically aligns to IM’s mission and goals
- gives back to the ongoing development of the curriculum and professional learning so that all learners benefit
Who is partnered with Illustrative Mathematics?
IM Certified partners share our commitment to providing the IM Certified curricula and professional learning to all teachers as it is meant to be experienced and the format they need to ensure success. IM Certified partners include:
- three IM Certified curriculum partners: Kendall Hunt, Imagine Learning, and Kiddom.
- six IM Certified professional learning partners: Imagine Learning, Kendall Hunt, Kiddom, Mathematics Institute of Wisconsin, MMSLN, and CREC.
- one partner that provides interim assessments aligned with IM 6–8 Math v.III: CenterPoint Education.
Is Illustrative Mathematics in partnership with Open Up Resources?
No, Illustrative Mathematics and Open Up Resources have decided to fulfill their respective missions through different paths. Illustrative Mathematics is committed to always offering a freely available version of all of our curricula.
IM 6–8 Math™ Accelerated
What is IM 6–8 Math Accelerated?
IM 6–8 Math Accelerated is a compressed version of IM 6–8 Math v.III. It includes all of the standards in IM 6–8 Math and compacts them into a two-year curriculum that is meant to be covered during 6th and 7th grade year.
How do I know that IM 6–8 Math Accelerated is IM Certified?
Because there are numerous versions of IM curricula offered, we created the IM Certification distinction for educators to easily identify the IM curricula that is directly from IM. This guarantees the critical oversight, review, and quality expected from IM and IM authors. Always look for the IM Certified logo. IM Certified curricula is available exclusively from the three IM Certified distribution partners: Kendall Hunt, Imagine Learning, and Kiddom.
How is IM 6–8 Math Accelerated different from other accelerated programs?
The vast majority of traditional accelerated programs advance students by skipping levels or entire grades. With the current standards-based model of mathematics education, this approach is creating significant knowledge gaps in students as they approach higher grade-level mathematics. To address this issue, IM authored IM 6–8 Math Accelerated which does not jeopardize the understanding of foundational concepts. Instead, it compacts the curriculum so no crucial mathematical concepts are missed.
Who is IM 6–8 Math Accelerated for?
Thoughtful accelerated programs compact the same content into a shorter time period and don’t skip material altogether. This means that students interested in accelerating in math before high school must be prepared to encounter new content at a faster pace than they are used to. Educators need a comprehensive and equitable evaluative process for identifying students for acceleration. IM believes IM 6–8 Math Accelerated is suitable for a very small subset of students who consistently engage with extension and enrichment materials provided in the regular curriculum and demonstrate exceptional rigor, fluency, and understanding in mathematics.
What courses are being compressed?
IM 6–8 Math grades 6, 7, and 8 are compressed into two courses that we anticipate students will take during their 6th and 7th grade years.
Where is the material from?
All activities, practice problems, and assessment problems are from IM 6–8 Math certified by IM and IM authors. The majority of the in-class material is the same as in IM 6–8 Math. In some instances, two lessons or activities from IM 6–8 Math are merged into one for Accelerated.
What similarities do IM 6–8 Math Accelerated and IM 6–8 Math share?
The unit and lesson structure of IM 6–8 Math Accelerated follows the same flow as IM 6–8 Math (and IM 9–12 Math) certified by IM. Each unit starts with an invitation to the mathematics, followed by a deep study of targeted concepts and procedures, and ends with an opportunity to consolidate and apply learning. Lessons follow this structure by starting with a warm-up, followed by several activities, a lesson synthesis, and a cool-down which allows students to demonstrate how they are consolidating and applying the math they just worked with.
Units have Check Your Readiness assessments for teachers to use as a pre-diagnostic. All units have an end-of-unit assessment and longer units include a mid-unit assessments.
The same instructional routines, math language routines, and supports found in IM 6–8 Math are in IM 6–8 Math Accelerated. Digital versions of activities are present with the same applets, though some text related to an applet may be modified in merged activities.
What are the differences between IM 6–8 Math Accelerated and IM 6–8 Math?
In order to address all the grade 6, 7, and 8 standards in two years, many additional practice lessons in IM 6–8 Math have either been made optional or removed from the Accelerated courses.
What additional support materials are provided to teachers using IM 6–8 Math Accelerated?
To aid teachers in making sense of the materials created from compacting activities from IM 6–8 Math, additional guidance is provided at the activity level, lesson level, unit level, and assessment level.
IM Resource Hub
Did the IM Resource Hub replace the IM Community Hub?
The IM Community Hub evolved to IM Resource Hub from January 2022–June 2022. In June 2022, the IM Community Hub was decommissioned and replaced by the IM Resource Hub beta. During the IM Resource Hub beta phase in summer 2022, we asked IM Community users to submit their feedback so that we could make tweaks and edits in order to provide an exceptional user experience.
The IM Resource Hub is now officially launched. Learn how the IM Community Hub evolved to the IM Resource Hub by reading this article on our IM Certified blog titled, The IM Community Hub is Becoming the IM Resource Hub—Here’s Why.
What is the IM Resource Hub?
The IM Resource Hub is Illustrative Mathematics’ digital tool that houses free resources to support learning and instruction. In the Resource Hub, you can explore a variety of useful documents, on-demand videos, and presentations that are useful to the IM Community.
Will I have to log in to the IM Resource Hub?
No, we’ve made it easy for you to access the IM Resource Hub! You won’t need a username and password to access. You’ll just simply visit the site, and you’re in.
What will happen to my IM Community Hub login information (username and password)?
Once the IM Community Hub is decommissioned, your username and password will not be retained for security purposes.
I’ve bookmarked the links to my favorite resources in the IM Community Hub. Will I have to create new bookmarks once the IM Resource Hub goes live?
We were able to redirect most of the IM Community Hub resource links to the new IM Resource Hub. This means that your IM Community Hub bookmarks should still work. However, there will be some bookmarks that you will have to create for resources in the new IM Resource Hub.
Who can I contact for assistance or help with navigating the IM Resource Hub?
For questions, concerns, or assistance, send an email to: [email protected].
IM Certified Facilitator Application and Certification Process
Are you currently hiring IM Certified Facilitators?
The application period for the 2024 season is now closed. We encourage interested applicants to check back in 2025 for updates.
I previously submitted an application but never heard back. Will I need to submit another application? What is the status of my previous application?
If an application was submitted within the last year, then it was considered in the 2024 round of applications. Applicants whose applications met the minimum requirements, were contacted to move forward in the application process.
What happens after my application is submitted?
- After completing the application, all applicants will receive an automated email confirming receipt.
- Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will be invited to complete a task that explores the applicants’ mathematics content knowledge and facilitation style.
- Applicants advancing beyond the task are invited to a video interview.
- A limited number of applicants successfully advancing through each phase will be invited to train as an IM Certified facilitator candidate. Invitations will be shared with successful candidates by the end of January.
- Applicants not advancing at any stage of the application will receive an email alert of their status.
If I am not invited to become an IM Certified facilitator candidate, will I receive feedback?
The IM Certified Facilitator application attracts a large volume of highly-qualified applicants. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not able to provide individual feedback to each applicant.
If I receive an invitation to train as a facilitator, what are the costs associated with attending certification training?
Historically, IM Certified facilitator certification training is held in-person across two or three days of rich learning. IM Certified facilitator candidates are required to cover all travel, lodging, and meal expenses associated with attending. Successful candidates should be willing and prepared to fund travel-related costs associated with certification training.
How often would you need me to facilitate professional learning events?
We ask that all IM Certified facilitators and candidates commit to providing no fewer than 20 professional learning units during the months of June–September. These events could be a combination of onsite and virtual events to arrive at the 20 unit minimum requirement. (One on-site day is three units, and one two-hour virtual session is one unit).
What are the travel and time commitments of being a facilitator? What are the possible locations?
Facilitators choose which events they facilitate based on their certification and availability. We offer our professional learning both onsite throughout the United States and virtually both domestically and internationally.
How long are the professional learning events you offer?
IM onsite professional learning events typically run 6 hours per day plus lunch. Most of our onsite professional learning events are either 1 day or 2 consecutive days. Our virtual professional learning events typically last 2 hours.
When are the professional learning events held?
IM professional learning events are usually held during weekdays throughout the year, although summer is our busiest season. Events are either held onsite or virtually, though most summer events are held onsite.
I am interested in providing professional learning to my district.
IM Certified Facilitators’ facilitate professional learning on behalf of IM for schools and teachers around the nation. If you are only interested in providing professional learning in your own district, please connect with an IM Certified Professional Learning partner to learn more about professional learning opportunities that can be offered within your local district.
