According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000), middle school students should be able to:

• Organize and consolidate mathematical thinking through communication;
  
• Communicate mathematical thinking coherently to peers, teachers, and others; and
  
• Use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely.

According to the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills [TAKS] (TEA, 2005) middle schools students should be able to demonstrate understanding of:

• Numbers, operations, and quantitative reasoning;
  
• Patterns, relationships, and algebra reasoning;
  
• Geometry and spatial reasoning;
  
• Concepts and uses of measurement;
  
• Probability and statistics; and
  
• The mathematical processes and tools used in problem solving.