On removing "accelerated" options in math
It won't work, Virginia.
And I am addressing the state of Virginia, not a person named Virginia. Just to be clear.
News item: Va. plans to improve equity, learning opportunities through high school math
The Virginia Department of Education is looking to eliminate all accelerated math courses before students enter 11th grade through the Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI).
VMPI is a joint initiative among the education department, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and The Virginia Community College System.
A few of the initiative’s goals are; improve equity in mathematics learning opportunities, ensure that students are better prepared for college and career success and to collaborate with multiple stakeholders to advance mathematics education.
Under the initiative, sixth graders would take Foundational Concepts 6, seventh graders would take Foundational Concepts 7, and so forth. Once students enter the 11th grade they will be able to take advanced courses such as calculus.
....
He also pointed out that the initiative would eliminate a current issue “of students being ‘locked in'” to their math track and being unable to get to calculus later on if they weren’t sufficiently accelerated in middle school.
So here's the problem: you're not going to achieve equity by putting your hand on the top of the head of those who find math easier. This will not achieve "equity", whatever they think that is. Yes, you may have fewer distinctions in what's written on their high school transcripts and, really, that's the way it used to be. (Of course, the way it used to be, it wasn't necessarily expected that everybody would get through high school, much less go to college.)
I looked at the Virginia curriculum (in terms of concepts), and I have no issue with the specific subjects. I like that they are picking up topics that I do think are appropriate to introduce at a high school level, but most people have never seen in a formal classroom setting. That will be good.
But let's get to the point I want to make: just remove calculus from the high school curriculum. I'm not joking. People used to major in engineering and physics without even having heard of calculus before college. (Of course, it wasn't seen as a problem that loads of people flunked out of college calculus, and just left college -- when the amount of debt you could accrue was very modest, and when even white-collar jobs did not require college degrees.)
The calculus taught in high schools is mainly crap. Anybody who has taught calculus in college, and have half your class claim to have gotten good grades in calculus in high school, and they can't even do basic algebra (such as understand the equation of a line)... yeah, how about making sure the students know algebra really well? How about concentrating on that?
Because here's the nasty aspect of the above: if they are doing this to "achieve equity", I guarantee that they will not achieve it. The issue in K-12 math is not necessarily the disparities (somebody will generally have more resources at home/interest in the subject and therefore learn outside of formal schooling. You're not going to catch up with people like that... without a lot of work.) The disparities will be there, whether you have tracking or no.
The issue is that too many students do not understand the math at all, and even the "best" (well, better) students see it as a bunch of disconnected rules they have to memorize. That's insane.
So fine, don't have any accelerated classes, and just allow the students who know the stuff already to "place out", that is, let them take a test to give them credit for the class and let them do something else, like read, during the period. If nobody can formally get ahead by taking advanced classes, then fine, don't let them formally take the advanced classes (don't be surprised if they learn it via Khan Academy, or their parents pay for Kumon or something like that). But if you force them to pretend they're paying attention in class, you will likely have some serious trouble on your hands.
Oh, and don't fall for any bushwah that the more advanced students (who will still exist) can teach the less advanced ones. Holy shit, don't do that. That's asking for even worse trouble.
Focus on making sure the students actually learn the math, okay?
UPDATE: It also won't "work" in California. In the Name of Equity, California Will Discourage Students Who Are Gifted at Math -- I will go on at length about this another time. If they get rid of calculus from high school entirely, it would be a boon for high school math. Just not for the reason they think.
And I am addressing the state of Virginia, not a person named Virginia. Just to be clear.
News item: Va. plans to improve equity, learning opportunities through high school math
The Virginia Department of Education is looking to eliminate all accelerated math courses before students enter 11th grade through the Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI).
VMPI is a joint initiative among the education department, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and The Virginia Community College System.
A few of the initiative’s goals are; improve equity in mathematics learning opportunities, ensure that students are better prepared for college and career success and to collaborate with multiple stakeholders to advance mathematics education.
Under the initiative, sixth graders would take Foundational Concepts 6, seventh graders would take Foundational Concepts 7, and so forth. Once students enter the 11th grade they will be able to take advanced courses such as calculus.
....
He also pointed out that the initiative would eliminate a current issue “of students being ‘locked in'” to their math track and being unable to get to calculus later on if they weren’t sufficiently accelerated in middle school.
So here's the problem: you're not going to achieve equity by putting your hand on the top of the head of those who find math easier. This will not achieve "equity", whatever they think that is. Yes, you may have fewer distinctions in what's written on their high school transcripts and, really, that's the way it used to be. (Of course, the way it used to be, it wasn't necessarily expected that everybody would get through high school, much less go to college.)
I looked at the Virginia curriculum (in terms of concepts), and I have no issue with the specific subjects. I like that they are picking up topics that I do think are appropriate to introduce at a high school level, but most people have never seen in a formal classroom setting. That will be good.
But let's get to the point I want to make: just remove calculus from the high school curriculum. I'm not joking. People used to major in engineering and physics without even having heard of calculus before college. (Of course, it wasn't seen as a problem that loads of people flunked out of college calculus, and just left college -- when the amount of debt you could accrue was very modest, and when even white-collar jobs did not require college degrees.)
The calculus taught in high schools is mainly crap. Anybody who has taught calculus in college, and have half your class claim to have gotten good grades in calculus in high school, and they can't even do basic algebra (such as understand the equation of a line)... yeah, how about making sure the students know algebra really well? How about concentrating on that?
Because here's the nasty aspect of the above: if they are doing this to "achieve equity", I guarantee that they will not achieve it. The issue in K-12 math is not necessarily the disparities (somebody will generally have more resources at home/interest in the subject and therefore learn outside of formal schooling. You're not going to catch up with people like that... without a lot of work.) The disparities will be there, whether you have tracking or no.
The issue is that too many students do not understand the math at all, and even the "best" (well, better) students see it as a bunch of disconnected rules they have to memorize. That's insane.
So fine, don't have any accelerated classes, and just allow the students who know the stuff already to "place out", that is, let them take a test to give them credit for the class and let them do something else, like read, during the period. If nobody can formally get ahead by taking advanced classes, then fine, don't let them formally take the advanced classes (don't be surprised if they learn it via Khan Academy, or their parents pay for Kumon or something like that). But if you force them to pretend they're paying attention in class, you will likely have some serious trouble on your hands.
Oh, and don't fall for any bushwah that the more advanced students (who will still exist) can teach the less advanced ones. Holy shit, don't do that. That's asking for even worse trouble.
Focus on making sure the students actually learn the math, okay?
UPDATE: It also won't "work" in California. In the Name of Equity, California Will Discourage Students Who Are Gifted at Math -- I will go on at length about this another time. If they get rid of calculus from high school entirely, it would be a boon for high school math. Just not for the reason they think.