California education officials adopted a new math curriculum Wednesday, ushering in sweeping changes for how students are taught mathematics across the state.
The state Department of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to roll out a new framework that will reshape California's curriculum, textbooks, professional development and standardized assessments.
But the new curriculum drew widespread criticism for discouraging public schools from teaching algebra before high school and veering from traditional methods such as memorization of multiplication tables and math drills in favor of weaving social justice and history lessons into math instruction.
More than 100 educators, university professors and parents weighed in on the controversial plan Wednesday.
The framework, based on San Francisco Unified School District’s own program, has been criticized by district leaders and others for being flawed and inequitable, especially for students who historically perform poorly on standardized math tests.
Central to the debate is whether or not the current approach to teaching math is accessible. SFUSD’s program, adopted in 2013, eliminated 8th grade algebra in order to boost the math scores of Black and brown students, but the program has since been criticized for falling short.
Standardized test results in 2022 found that only 9% of SFUSD’s Black students met or exceeded state math standards. SFUSD math test scores overall are lower than comparable Bay Area school districts.
Others say the proposed framework offers a better alternative for teaching diverse student bodies. Yolande Beckles, President of the National Association of African American Parents and Youth, said the framework authors had included the voices of family and engagement experts like herself.
“The (new) framework offers a better way to teach math,” she said. “(The authors) have incorporated our recommendations and have also worked closely with respected math organizations across the state.”
Darryl Yong, a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, lauded the framework and said that opponents have “an unhealthy obsession with precalculus.”
“I appreciate that the framework is pushing us in a more equitable direction,” he said.
The new framework also has support among some math teachers in San Francisco public schools. SFUSD math teacher Rori Abernethy expressed her full support of the framework’s adoption at Wednesday’s meeting.
“This framework allows for a way forward,” she said. “Students are missing out when they don’t have access to diverse mathematical thinkers and resources.”
Other professors and educators were more skeptical. Jelani Nelson, a professor of engineering at UC Berkeley, said the framework would harm students who don’t have access to supplemental tutoring or summer courses, sometimes referred to as ‘workarounds’ to advanced precalculus courses.
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“Our (current) mathematics standards are very clear on what children need to be able to know and be able to do as they matriculate through various grades,” he said. “Kids without good counseling would be the ones to get derailed into courses that don’t provide adequate preparation (for advanced math-taking).”
Joan Davidson, a teacher at Torrance Unified School District, said the framework is not equity “in any shape or form.”
“To give (the public) just a few days in the middle of summer to weigh in on this is egregious,” she said. “There is nothing transparent about this.”
The framework and its multiple revisions garnered a bounty of interest and debate over the past twelve months. Within the San Francisco public school community, the framework has stirred controversy.
In June, Superintendent Matt Wayne said the district’s math curriculum “isn’t working” to serve its diverse student body. A May Stanford University study also found that Black and brown students were not meeting statewide testing standards after the district implemented the new curriculum.
“The latest evidence shows that discouraging algebra in 8th grade did not result in closing the gap for Black and brown students,” Supervisor Myrna Melgar told The Examiner.
“De-tracking,” the practice of placing all students in the same class despite their interests and abilities, is also inequitable and unfair, Melgar said.
San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener and city Supervisors Melgar and Joel Engardio called the proposed statewide math curriculum flawed and based on SFUSD’s “failed” model.
In a letter to California Department of Education Linda Darling-Hammond, Wiener, Melgar and Engardio asked for an extension of the public comment period for the curriculum guide to allow families more time to review and comment, which was not granted.
Engardio said giving the public just eight business days to digest the California Math Framework document seemed “designed to limit comment and exclude voices.”
A petition entitled “Bring Algebra back for SF’s 8th graders” — created by SF Guardians, the parent group that led last year’s school board recall — surfaced late last year, dredging support among parents to reject the proposed statewide framework.
“There is massive support on the streets to bring algebra back for 8th graders,” an advocacy group representative said in a statement emailed to The Examiner. “If we are truly committed to equity, then it’s imperative we recognize these failures and course correct before this harms any more kids. The (framework) in its current form has failed to do that.”
At the Wednesday meeting, Darling-Hammond said there “has been a lot of misinformation circulating” about the framework.
“We know the status quo is not adequate. We have to be deliberate about ensuring rigor, and equity for excellence, not in lieu of excellence. I think the framework has striven to make that clear in multiple ways,” she said.
