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Living in California is expensive as hell, especially for younger folks with no inheritance, and the state operates at varying levels of dysfunction because it's got 40 million people in it.
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Efforts like this are well meaning, but only treat symptoms. The major impetus for watered down curricula is the very rational fear that large swaths of the student population will fail if expected to perform at the prior standards of rigor. Schools are not prepared to hold back massive numbers of kids, drop out proclivity for students held back rises, and teachers will be poorly evaluated by virtue of their students…
This is a natural consequence of the American myth/narrative that everyone is suited for academic high school and university. Other countries simply sort people into different schools much earlier, and spend the high school years teaching meaningful vocational skills to those not on the academic track, rather than wasting everyone's time.
Ultimately the solution is better STEM foundation at the very very early ages. Universal pre school would probably be very useful. Empirically [edit: n = 1 or 2], it seems that drilling basic arithmetic and then multiplication tables early in pre K and earlier elementary will give students a better intuitive math foundation to do algebra very well. That would enable everyone to go into more advanced classes at the sa…
Pre-K (4 year olds) seems a bit young for teaching multiplication tables.
> "Since achieving a solid foundation in mathematics is more important for long-term success than rushing through courses with a superficial understanding, it would be desirable to consider how students who do not accelerate in eighth grade can reach higher level courses, potentially including Calculus, by twelfth grade. One possibility could involve reducing the repetition of content in high school, so that students do not need four courses before Calculus. Algebra 2 repeats a significant amount of the content of Algebra 1 and Pre-calculus repeats content from Algebra 2. While recognizing that some repetition of content has value, further analysis should be conducted to evaluate how high school course pathways may be redesigned to create a more streamlined three-year pathway to pre-calculus / calculus or statistics or data science, allowing students to take three years of middle school foundations and still reach advanced mathematics courses."
At face value, that suggests that the root problem is that students reaching middle school Algebra 1 aren't ready and need more remedial math instruction. As an Electrical Engineering professor, I can definitely attest to the fact that students reaching higher level classes with a precarious foundation are rarely as successful as those whose foundation is more solid. I suspect Scott would also agree that barely passing calculus in high school is not an adequate preparation for a career in data science. As a parent of a kindergartner and a second grader, I can also see that there is opportunity to push more math further down, but even at that age there are kids who have a huge variability in how they view their math.
With regard to resources, I thought this statement in the CMF was particularly insightful:
> “While early tracking of students into low-level courses has been problematic, there is evidence that thoughtful grouping of students to ensure they receive high-quality instruction geared to their needs at a moment in time can be helpful. This includes students who need to fill in gaps in their prior learning and high-achieving students who are ready to be more intensely challenged. It is also true that teaching heterogeneous classes requires greater skill for differentiating supports than teaching in classes where the range of performance may be narrower, and should be accompanied by high-quality professional development to enable success.”
Efforts like this are well meaning, but only treat symptoms. The major impetus for watered down curricula is the very rational fear that large swaths of the student population will fail if expected to perform at the prior standards of rigor. Schools are not prepared to hold back massive numbers of kids, drop out proclivity for students held back rises, and teachers will be poorly evaluated by virtue of their students…
This is a natural consequence of the American myth/narrative that everyone is suited for academic high school and university. Other countries simply sort people into different schools much earlier, and spend the high school years teaching meaningful vocational skills to those not on the academic track, rather than wasting everyone's time.
Sorry for being out of the loop and asking a (possibly) dumb question: What is the stated reason that the CMF suggested these changes? Is it about budgets? Is it because some people might think these classes " aren't that important? ". The open letter seems to suggest that it's about closing gaps between privileged and less privileged - is that it? Honest question - I'm not trying to stir the pot.
> The framework would not forbid districts from accelerating students in middle school. It does, however, recommend that middle-school students all take the same sequence of “integrated” math classes that blend concepts from arithmetic, algebra and other subjects with the goal of cultivating a foundation and comfort level with numbers.
> On top of that, the framework recommends that schools postpone offering students Algebra 1 until 9th grade or later, when it says more students are likely to be able to master the material.
> “When kids struggle, they immediately say ‘I don’t have a math brain,’” Boaler said. “That changes how the brain operates.”
https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2021/11/cali...
I am sympathetic to the idea that we don't want to send the message that some kids are just bad at math, but it does seem to be a bit of throwing the baby out with the bathwater by holding back the other kids who are doing well. Even if you keep the advanced kids in the same class, the kids are are struggling are going to be well aware that some of the kids are getting it really quickly.
Which states are doing it right?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think America is going to have to take a hard look at its math education if it’s serious about re-industrializing. Where are all the extra engineers going to come from? I think you are touching on theory I have that Americans are becoming increasingly resentful that technical skills are becoming more necessary for middle class living. This is a huge driver of the pervading sense of precariousness. For some reason t…
> Where are all the extra engineers going to come from? Unfortunately, maybe where they come from now? India, China, and other immigration.