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Text from the CMF: > "Since achieving a solid foundation in mathematics is more important for long-term success than rushing through courses with a superficial

Text from the CMF: > "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.”

ckemere 4y ago
Update - having re-read the first post about this, it seems that the issue of resources is exactly the problem. I think that opponents of the CMF would prefer to see More Resources put into careful, thorough elementary/middle school math so that middle schoolers would thrive in 8th grade Algebra. And in their view, the CMF simply lowers the bar, masking the need for more resources. I agree with that!
- danans 4y ago
  The lack of resources for public education, coupled with the every increasing level of competency that students are required to internalize over time drives many of the fights in education. I can understand how an electrical engineering professor like yourself is rightly concerned about your incoming students having less calculus proficiency. On the other hand, there many (possibly far more numerous than EE) education and career paths that would benefit from better general numeracy but not necessary calculus. The terrible thing here is that these goals should be set against one another due to resource limitations. The blame for that lies with the broader societal inequities and their reflection on the educational funding system.
  - keneda7 4y ago
    I'm a product of public schools and a state college. Due to my experiences I will never vote to give teachers one more dollar in funding until major changes occur. I had multiple high school teachers that were checked out. Would watch movies and do worksheets. We learned nothing in their class other than how bad they thought students were now days. Yet they were never fired. Some lasted another 10 years before retiring. I also had multiple professors that would start terms by saying if you have conservative views and you express them in class I will fail you. Had another professor joke about how she found out a student was part of a club she didn't like so she failed him. Often times these were not GE classes but CS specific. Politics have nothing to do with a class on OOP or AI. That is not teaching IMO. I have a ton of friends that feel the same way. Until this issue is actually recognized and addressed I do not believe you see anything change.
  - rayiner 4y ago
    What exactly do you think are the facts regarding the "lack of resources" in education and "the educational funding system?" Are you aware that the U.S. spends among the most on primary education (adjusted for purchasing power) of any developed country: https://www.statista.com/statistics/238733/expenditure-on-education-by-country/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/238733/expenditure-on-ed... Or that 50% of total K-12 school funding comes from federal and state sources, which is directed mainly at lower-income districts? And that, when including those funds, only a few states (ironically blue ones) have more than a 5% gap between rich and poor districts: https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Gaps-in-State-and-Local-Revenues-per-Student-Between-Districts-Serving-the-Most-and-the-Fewest-Students-in-Poverty.jpg https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Gaps-in-State.... Meanwhile about 20 states (including many red ones like Utah and Georgia) direct over 5% or more funding to poor school districts than rich ones?

ckemere 4y ago

Update - having re-read the first post about this, it seems that the issue of resources is exactly the problem. I think that opponents of the CMF would prefer to see More Resources put into careful, thorough elementary/middle school math so that middle schoolers would thrive in 8th grade Algebra. And in their view, the CMF simply lowers the bar, masking the need for more resources. I agree with that!

danans 4y ago
The lack of resources for public education, coupled with the every increasing level of competency that students are required to internalize over time drives many of the fights in education. I can understand how an electrical engineering professor like yourself is rightly concerned about your incoming students having less calculus proficiency. On the other hand, there many (possibly far more numerous than EE) education and career paths that would benefit from better general numeracy but not necessary calculus. The terrible thing here is that these goals should be set against one another due to resource limitations. The blame for that lies with the broader societal inequities and their reflection on the educational funding system.
- keneda7 4y ago
  I'm a product of public schools and a state college. Due to my experiences I will never vote to give teachers one more dollar in funding until major changes occur. I had multiple high school teachers that were checked out. Would watch movies and do worksheets. We learned nothing in their class other than how bad they thought students were now days. Yet they were never fired. Some lasted another 10 years before retiring. I also had multiple professors that would start terms by saying if you have conservative views and you express them in class I will fail you. Had another professor joke about how she found out a student was part of a club she didn't like so she failed him. Often times these were not GE classes but CS specific. Politics have nothing to do with a class on OOP or AI. That is not teaching IMO. I have a ton of friends that feel the same way. Until this issue is actually recognized and addressed I do not believe you see anything change.
- rayiner 4y ago
  What exactly do you think are the facts regarding the "lack of resources" in education and "the educational funding system?" Are you aware that the U.S. spends among the most on primary education (adjusted for purchasing power) of any developed country: https://www.statista.com/statistics/238733/expenditure-on-education-by-country/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/238733/expenditure-on-ed... Or that 50% of total K-12 school funding comes from federal and state sources, which is directed mainly at lower-income districts? And that, when including those funds, only a few states (ironically blue ones) have more than a 5% gap between rich and poor districts: https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Gaps-in-State-and-Local-Revenues-per-Student-Between-Districts-Serving-the-Most-and-the-Fewest-Students-in-Poverty.jpg https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Gaps-in-State.... Meanwhile about 20 states (including many red ones like Utah and Georgia) direct over 5% or more funding to poor school districts than rich ones?