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Just anecdotally based on my 2000something kid high school, the copious amount of tiering of math classes seemed to indicate to me that either we're really bad

Just anecdotally based on my 2000something kid high school, the copious amount of tiering of math classes seemed to indicate to me that either we're really bad at teaching math to 80% of people, or only 20% of people will be able to handle precalculus. We had basically 4 tracks: one ended with you doing algebra 1 in senior year, another ended with you doing trig in sr year, yet another that ended with trig (no precalculus), and then one that ended with you doing trig and precalc. That final class then had further subdivisions that were too small to have their own full classes: some kids just did precalc, some did calc 1 and took the AP Calculus AB exam and/or IB Math SL, while even even smaller group took AP Calculus BC and/or IB Math HL. The total number of kids who took the AP Calc AB exam in my year was 20ish, out of a graduating class of 500-600.

godelski 1y ago
In either case it would seem to suggest we should radically change the system
serial_dev 1y ago
This system sounds extremely complicated. > the copious amount of tiering of math classes seemed to indicate to me that either we're really bad at teaching math to 80% of people, or only 20% of people will be able to handle precalculus Or maybe it indicates that the people designing this system should be fired? Job security through complexity? (Or maybe I’m just biased by the system I know… I’m just asking questions)
- godelski 1y ago
  > … I’m just asking questions I'm not disagreeing, but just wanted to point out that this phrasing is commonly used by bad faith actors. I'm not saying you're using it this way and I legitimately do not think you are. But I wanted to point it out because I think your comment could be interpreted another way and this phrase might be evidence for someone to make that conclusion. The classic example is conspiracy theorists. But lots of bad faith actors also use it to create leading questions that generally ignore or lead away from important context. Again, I do not think you're doing this. The rest of your comment makes me think you're acting in good faith.
thaumasiotes 1y ago
I went to a small high school; my graduating class was around 30 people. Math classes weren't separated by grade. So, I took Algebra 2 in 8th grade alongside a cross section of the school; there was one other 8th grader, two seniors, and a selection of people in between. There was no path to take the AP Calculus AB. Trig / Calc A was offered as two semesters, and then Calc B / Calc C was offered as two more semesters, after which you'd take the BC test. There was also no such thing as "precalculus". Trig followed Algebra II. In my Calc C class, there were probably 8ish people, of which one or two (besides me) would have been in my grade.

godelski 1y ago

In either case it would seem to suggest we should radically change the system

serial_dev 1y ago

This system sounds extremely complicated. > the copious amount of tiering of math classes seemed to indicate to me that either we're really bad at teaching math to 80% of people, or only 20% of people will be able to handle precalculus Or maybe it indicates that the people designing this system should be fired? Job security through complexity? (Or maybe I’m just biased by the system I know… I’m just asking questions)

godelski 1y ago
> … I’m just asking questions I'm not disagreeing, but just wanted to point out that this phrasing is commonly used by bad faith actors. I'm not saying you're using it this way and I legitimately do not think you are. But I wanted to point it out because I think your comment could be interpreted another way and this phrase might be evidence for someone to make that conclusion. The classic example is conspiracy theorists. But lots of bad faith actors also use it to create leading questions that generally ignore or lead away from important context. Again, I do not think you're doing this. The rest of your comment makes me think you're acting in good faith.

thaumasiotes 1y ago

I went to a small high school; my graduating class was around 30 people. Math classes weren't separated by grade. So, I took Algebra 2 in 8th grade alongside a cross section of the school; there was one other 8th grader, two seniors, and a selection of people in between. There was no path to take the AP Calculus AB. Trig / Calc A was offered as two semesters, and then Calc B / Calc C was offered as two more semesters, after which you'd take the BC test. There was also no such thing as "precalculus". Trig followed Algebra II. In my Calc C class, there were probably 8ish people, of which one or two (besides me) would have been in my grade.