Academics

Mathematics

The skill and ability to work with numbers and to apply mathematics are essential to a solid educational foundation. At Falmouth Academy, students study mathematics every year. We offer two series of courses to meet the needs of students of various math backgrounds. All seventh graders take Math 7, an FA-designed curriculum which uses group work and projects to challenge the top students and to fill in any gaps in an individual student’s preparation. The seventh grade year also serves as a placement assessment for eighth grade, when one third of the class takes Pre-Algebra and the rest of the class takes Algebra I. For students who have begun algebra in eighth grade, the freshman math course is Geometry. The course sequence continues in sophomore year with Algebra II, then Pre-calculus and Calculus. Alternatively, students may take Algebra I in freshman year, continuing through Statistics and Functions or Pre-Calculus as seniors. At each level, students are led to take more independent approaches to the solution of problems. Throughout the math curriculum, teachers are coaches rather than lecturers, encouraging students to discover the hows and whys of mathematics.

The practical application of mathematical theory forms a significant aspect of our approach to math. One application, of course, is the analysis of data students gather for their independent research projects for the FA Science Fair, co-sponsored by the math and science departments. With every passing year, this analysis becomes more sophisticated and detailed. Other class projects challenge students to design a ten-year financial and building plan for the Steamship Authority or to describe the enlargement of a drawing using only mathematical formulae. Writing is another facet of the math curriculum as students research historical mathematicians and present their contributions in class.

We take care to encourage girls to pursue math and science as a counterbalance to many of the messages popular culture sends adolescent girls. More than half our delegates to the International Science and Engineering Fair have been girls and many of our alumni, both women and men, pursue careers in science, technology, medicine, and engineering.