“You make the choice when you’re 16, when you actually know a bit more about what kind of student you are.” “All of the acceleration paths are family and student choices, not based on test scores or teacher preference,” Ryan said. That way, students can still take advanced math as upperclassmen. To address the first, the district permits students to accelerate after completing Algebra 1 in 9th grade-most notably through a compressed class combining Algebra 2 and precalculus. With that history in mind, San Francisco’s commitment to de-tracking math tries to navigate between two rocky shoals: politics and implementation. “The whole idea was to have heterogeneous, rigorous classes, and schools didn’t have the capacity to pull that off.” A New Approach “I think the failure of 8th grade algebra was one of just not preparing teachers and school leaders to understand the policy and to implement it well,” said Domina, an associate professor of education policy and sociology. In a surprise finding, they discovered that higher enrollments in early algebra were linked to a decline in students’ scores on a state math test. For the average student, researchers say, early exposure to a challenging class like algebra probably does pay off.īut in a 2015 study, the University of North Carolina’s Thurston Domina and colleagues tracked how California’s uneven 8th grade algebra-for-all rollout played out across districts. Research paints a far more nuanced picture than either side in such debates typically acknowledge. It reversed course in 2010 after adopting the Common Core State Standards. In 2008, the state all but required every 8th grader to take algebra. The tug of war over these competing beliefs has led California to experiment with just about every possible algebra permutation over a decade. Calculus is virtually an entrance requirement at top-tier colleges, they point out, and that usually means taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade. “They think the earlier students distinguish themselves from their peers, the better off they’ll be, rather than seeing math as a platform for equity.”Īs if the politics of de-tracking math weren’t bad enough, a minority of mathematicians worry that it will hold back the most math-minded students-ultimately harming America’s supply of well-trained graduates. “Many of these parents are thinking, ‘How can I get my kids into the few spots in Stanford and Harvard?’” said James Ryan, who was until last month the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics executive director for the district. Many of them take it as late as their junior or senior year. The 56,000-student district’s theory of action is clear: Math is by far the most heavily tracked course in the American secondary education system, and the ramifications for students of color are life-altering.įederal data show that white and Asian students disproportionately take Algebra 1-long seen as a critical gateway to advanced math-before high school, while African-American and Latino students are overrepresented among those taking it for the first time in grade 9. Parents, concerned about rigor and whether their children would be able to take calculus by senior year, barraged everyone from the district superintendent’s office to City Hall with complaints and petitions.īut the district has held firm, and now, preliminary evidence suggests that San Francisco’s gamble may be paying dividends for black and Latino students, without hurting students who otherwise would have taken algebra earlier.īut the question still remains: Is that going to be enough to keep the policy in place for years to come? Context for a Debate Education Week offers you a big-picture look at how states, districts, and schools can overcome the obstacles that prevent more students from succeeding in STEM as they progress through school.įallout was swift.
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