What to teach in Massachusetts
Which courses here cover the required subjects, which subjects they do not, and roughly how many hours they account for.
What Massachusetts specifies
- Subjects
- Yes — 13 required subjects
- Hours or days
- Not specified.
- Assessment
- Required — see below
The subjects Massachusetts requires
- Orthography (spelling)
- Reading
- Writing
- English language and grammar
- Geography
- Arithmetic
- Drawing
- Music
- History and constitution of the United States
- Duties of citizenship
- Health education
- Physical education
- Good behavior
Quoted from the statute or regulation cited on the law page. Requirements for Grades K–5 are listed where the state sets them, but this site teaches Grades 6–12, so only those are matched below.
Courses that cover them
Massachusetts's list touches three of the four subjects taught here — mathematics, English, social studies. It does not name science, which you are free to teach anyway and most families do. Each course below is a full year.
Mathematics
| Grade | Course |
|---|---|
| Grade 6 | Grade 6 Math |
| Grade 7 | Grade 7 Math |
| Grade 8 | Grade 8 Math |
| Grade 9 | Algebra I |
| Grade 10 | Geometry |
| Grade 11 | Algebra II |
| Grade 12 | Precalculus |
English
Social studies
Each is planned as a 36-week year of about 180 sessions, five a week — the year 20 of the 21 course guides set out explicitly. How long a session runs is yours to set.
The four high school years
Massachusetts reviews the work each year, so the high school record matters twice: once for the annual assessment and again for whoever reads the transcript afterwards. A full sequence of these courses looks like this.
| Grade | Mathematics | English | Social studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | Algebra I | English 9 | Global History & Geography I |
| Grade 10 | Geometry | English 10 | Global History & Geography II |
| Grade 11 | Algebra II | English 11 | United States History & Government |
| Grade 12 | Precalculus | English 12 | Government, Civic Participation & Economics |
Four subjects across four years is 12 full-year courses. Credits, grades and the diploma itself are Massachusetts's business, not this site's — what Massachusetts says about diplomas and transcripts.
What this site does not teach
Massachusetts requires 4 subjects that these courses do not cover: health, physical education, art, music. Saying so plainly is more use than a page implying full coverage. Families commonly meet these through sport clubs, instrument or art lessons, a language app or tutor, and documented family activity — all of which count where the state asks for a log rather than a transcript.
Evidence for the annual review
Massachusetts asks for testing or evaluation, so the year has to leave a paper trail. These courses produce four things that serve as evidence, without any extra work:
- Printable lessons. Every lesson has a print view holding the full teaching text, worked examples and practice — dated pages for a portfolio.
- Exams with answer keys and marking criteria. Each course has a midterm, a final and a sample exam, each question carrying response criteria an evaluator can read.
- A 36-week pacing table. The parent guide for each course lists the week-by-week assignments, which is the planning document most evaluators ask to see.
- Exit tickets and checkpoints. Short written responses through each lesson, showing work over time rather than one test score.
Set by the approved plan. Under Charles the district may require periodic standardized testing, but parents may propose alternatives such as periodic progress reports or dated work samples. Home visits cannot be required as a condition of approval without parental consent (Brunelle).
Deadline: As set in the district's approval (commonly annual)