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> Our state is getting school districts to remove all advanced classes and gifted programs. All in the name of equity. Last year they got rid of all of the adva

> Our state is getting school districts to remove all advanced classes and gifted programs. All in the name of equity. Last year they got rid of all of the advanced math classes in our district because the number of minority students was too low. wtf

csa 3y ago
California things.
- mrexroad 3y ago
  Where in California, specifically?
  - csa 3y ago
    It’s a statewide effort, but I think SF (or some place in the Bay Area) has already done away with middle school algebra, which is a common first step in the path to high school calculus. Plenty of articles on this on the interwebs. For example: https://reason.com/2023/10/04/california-state-guidelines-discourage-schools-from-offering-advanced-middle-school-math/ https://reason.com/2023/10/04/california-state-guidelines-di... Note that I am not the OP, so I don’t know where they are specifically, or even if they are in CA. That said, K-12 is moving this direction in CA, and I think the administrators will end up getting their way one way or another.
    - mrexroad 3y ago
      The article only mentioned SF schools having done so a decade ago. FWIW, I have several kids in K-12 in the Bay Area schools and can say there’s zero talk of this within our school system or from the administrators I’ve interacted with. One of my kids took algebra in middle school last year and that was after we didn’t push them into a more advanced class. My kids are wonderfully different academically: one has special education needs, another literally maxed the scale in the mathematics portion of the state standardized tests, and another is beautifully well rounded. All have been supported, encouraged, and even pushed in mathematics by our public schools.
      - csa 3y ago
        Do you think that your situation is representative of the direction the state will go in over the next decade or so? I’m not so sure. Policies that focus on equality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunities are very popular in education circles these days. Certain communities (esp. relatively wealthy ones with relatively high-achieving and/or ambitious parents) may be able to avoid these policies for longer than others, but I’m not sure they will be able to be avoided entirely except by students in private schools. The math curriculum issue that CA currently has will continue and expand, imho. The DoE did not expect to get as much pushback as they got. Now it’s just a matter (from their perspective) of how they can force the outcome they want (e.g., no middle school algebra and/or high school calculus) with terms that will be or must be accepted by the population (e.g., budget cuts, manpower issues, accreditation issues, etc.). Note that I’m not trying to be overly alarmist, and I know that this reply may seem overly negative, but I’ve heard this song played before in a different key.
  - verteu 3y ago
    The California DoE is trying to push this on the entire state: > Proposed guidelines in the state would de-emphasize calculus, reject the idea that some children are naturally gifted and build a connection to social justice. Critics say math shouldn’t be political. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curriculum-guidelines.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curric...

csa 3y ago

California things.

mrexroad 3y ago
Where in California, specifically?
- csa 3y ago
  It’s a statewide effort, but I think SF (or some place in the Bay Area) has already done away with middle school algebra, which is a common first step in the path to high school calculus. Plenty of articles on this on the interwebs. For example: https://reason.com/2023/10/04/california-state-guidelines-discourage-schools-from-offering-advanced-middle-school-math/ https://reason.com/2023/10/04/california-state-guidelines-di... Note that I am not the OP, so I don’t know where they are specifically, or even if they are in CA. That said, K-12 is moving this direction in CA, and I think the administrators will end up getting their way one way or another.
  - mrexroad 3y ago
    The article only mentioned SF schools having done so a decade ago. FWIW, I have several kids in K-12 in the Bay Area schools and can say there’s zero talk of this within our school system or from the administrators I’ve interacted with. One of my kids took algebra in middle school last year and that was after we didn’t push them into a more advanced class. My kids are wonderfully different academically: one has special education needs, another literally maxed the scale in the mathematics portion of the state standardized tests, and another is beautifully well rounded. All have been supported, encouraged, and even pushed in mathematics by our public schools.
    - csa 3y ago
      Do you think that your situation is representative of the direction the state will go in over the next decade or so? I’m not so sure. Policies that focus on equality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunities are very popular in education circles these days. Certain communities (esp. relatively wealthy ones with relatively high-achieving and/or ambitious parents) may be able to avoid these policies for longer than others, but I’m not sure they will be able to be avoided entirely except by students in private schools. The math curriculum issue that CA currently has will continue and expand, imho. The DoE did not expect to get as much pushback as they got. Now it’s just a matter (from their perspective) of how they can force the outcome they want (e.g., no middle school algebra and/or high school calculus) with terms that will be or must be accepted by the population (e.g., budget cuts, manpower issues, accreditation issues, etc.). Note that I’m not trying to be overly alarmist, and I know that this reply may seem overly negative, but I’ve heard this song played before in a different key.
- verteu 3y ago
  The California DoE is trying to push this on the entire state: > Proposed guidelines in the state would de-emphasize calculus, reject the idea that some children are naturally gifted and build a connection to social justice. Critics say math shouldn’t be political. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curriculum-guidelines.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curric...