Recently, the Virginia Department of Education removed all student options for advanced math classes before grade 11 in Virginia public schools. The reason behind the move was “to improve equity in mathematics learning opportunities.” California is “reimagining” math classes for its 6 million or so students. One of the goals of this “reimagining” is given as an effort to call out systemic racism in mathematics and help teachers create more inclusive classrooms. It appears that far too many low-income Latino and Black students are being “left behind” and never reaching calculus classes. The California response to this is to group all students of all readiness levels together through all math classes until they reach the 11th grade. The guidelines intend to “accelerate achievement” by making mathematical concepts more “accessible and valuable” to all students, in spite of the fact that teachers estimate that as many as half of their students come to them already below grade level, and about half of those are as much as 2 grade levels behind.
Some Things Don't Add Up
Some Things Don't Add Up
Some Things Don't Add Up
Recently, the Virginia Department of Education removed all student options for advanced math classes before grade 11 in Virginia public schools. The reason behind the move was “to improve equity in mathematics learning opportunities.” California is “reimagining” math classes for its 6 million or so students. One of the goals of this “reimagining” is given as an effort to call out systemic racism in mathematics and help teachers create more inclusive classrooms. It appears that far too many low-income Latino and Black students are being “left behind” and never reaching calculus classes. The California response to this is to group all students of all readiness levels together through all math classes until they reach the 11th grade. The guidelines intend to “accelerate achievement” by making mathematical concepts more “accessible and valuable” to all students, in spite of the fact that teachers estimate that as many as half of their students come to them already below grade level, and about half of those are as much as 2 grade levels behind.