Mathematics education in New York in regard to both content and teaching method can vary depending on the type of school a person attends. Private school math education varies between schools whereas New York has statewide public school requirements where standardized tests are used to determine if the teaching method and educator are effective in transmitting content to the students. While an individual private school can choose the content and educational method to use, New York State mandates content and methods statewide. Some public schools have and continue to use established methods, such as Montessori for teaching such required content. New York State has used various foci of content and methods of teaching math including New Math (1960s), 'back to the basics' (1970s), Whole Math (1990s), Integrated Math, and Everyday Mathematics. How to teach math, what to teach, and its effectiveness has been a topic of debate in New York State and nationally since the "Math Wars" started in the 1960s. Often, current political events influence how and what is taught. The politics in turn influence state legislation. California, New York, and several other states have influenced textbook content produced by publishers. The state of New York has implemented a novel curriculum for high school mathematics. The courses Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II/Trigonometry are required courses mandated by the New York State Department of Education for high school graduation. 2007-present Algebra This is the first course in the new three-year curriculum. It was originally "Math A," but was replaced with "Integrated Algebra." In 2009 when Common Core was adopted, "Algebra I" replaced "Integrated Algebra" and is still in use today. Students learn to how write, solve, and graph equations and inequalities. They will also learn how to solve systems of equations, as well as how to simplify exponents, quadratic equations, exponential functions, polynomials, radicals, and rational expressions. Other topics included are probability and statistics. Some schools divided Algebra 1 into a two-year sequence. The students who receive it begin with Algebra 1A, and will cover the rest of the Algebra 1 topics in Algebra 1B in the next school year. Typically, most students are placed in Algebra 1 which covers all lessons rather than splitting them. At the conclusion of the one-year course, students take the New York State Regents Exam. The first administration of this exam was in June 2008. Geometry This is the second course in the