{"id":218642,"date":"2021-12-06T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=218642"},"modified":"2021-12-06T09:41:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T17:41:52","slug":"san-francisco-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_es\/education\/k-12-education\/2021\/12\/san-francisco-math\/","title":{"rendered":"Las controvertidas pautas de matem\u00e1ticas han tenido resultados mixtos en el Distrito Unificado de San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\n\t\t
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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Back in 2014, San Francisco adopted one of the core ideas in the state\u2019s proposed math framework. So far, the results aren\u2019t completely promising. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

Lea este art\u00edculo en <\/em>espa\u00f1ol<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joselyn Marroquin, a freshman at Lincoln High in San Francisco, challenged herself by taking two math classes this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the San Francisco Unified School District<\/a> requires students to wait until 9th grade to take Algebra 1, Joselyn enrolled in both Algebra 1 and Geometry at the same time so she can make it to AP Calculus by her senior year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe stress of taking two classes and having homework for each was difficult to manage,\u201d Joselyn said. \u201cIt was hard at first, but I got used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, district officials decided to delay Algebra 1 until 9th grade in hopes of lowering  the number of Black, Latino and low-income students failing Algebra 1 in 8th grade. The goal was to get these students into higher level math classes and eventually to careers in science, tech, engineering or math. The change succeeded at reducing the number of students failing courses, but has coincided with a drop in test scores at some schools serving higher-needs students, a point of criticism relevant to all of California because the state plans to recommend the same policy for every school district statewide as part of a new math framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the change has led families with resources, like Joselyn\u2019s, to find ways to help their kids get ahead in math, perpetuating some of the inequities the policy was meant to eliminate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make sure Joselyn could handle taking two math classes this year, her grandfather Rex Ridgeway, who oversees Joselyn’s education, paid $850 for her to enroll in an Algebra 1 class during the summer after 8th grade. Ridgeway, who is Black, said he hoped that going into high school already knowing Algebra 1 would lighten the burden of taking two math classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had her take Algebra 1 over the summer so she could master it when she took it again with Geometry,\u201d Ridgeway said. \u201cA lot of Black families don\u2019t have the resources to do what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Joselyn
Joselyn Marroquin does her homework at a park a few blocks from her home in the Bay View neighborhood of San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2021. Nina Riggio for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The state\u2019s recommendation of the same policy in its controversial math framework has reignited San Francisco parents like Ridgeway who opposed the measure nearly eight years ago. After blowback from parents and math experts, the state will be releasing the revised framework in January before finalizing the guidelines in July. The framework, however, is a set of suggestions and there will be no penalty for districts that opt to ignore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ridgeway said he was furious when he learned about the district\u2019s policy and sought ways to get Joselyn to Calculus by 12th grade and maximize her chances of attending UCLA, her dream school. Other parents in the district have done the same. Teachers aren\u2019t surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has led to even worse inequities and driven them underground,\u201d said Elizabeth Statmore, a math teacher at the district\u2019s Lowell High<\/a>, the city\u2019s top performing public high school. \u201cPeople with means started finding other ways to get ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A calculated move<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco\u2019s status quo before 2014 wasn\u2019t great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur kids were flunking out of Algebra in 8th grade, and I would say there was an equity issue,\u201d said Emily Murase, who was a school board member in 2014. \u201cOur math curriculum was clearly not serving our Black and Latino kids who were failing Algebra 1.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools in the district have come up with a variety of ways for students to get to calculus by the 12th grade, even with the policy change. Some schools offer a summer geometry course for which low-income students get priority enrollment. At other schools, students can take a one-year class that combines Algebra 2 and Precalculus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lizzy Hull Barnes, who oversees math instruction at San Francisco Unified, said these options count towards the admissions requirements for the University of California and the California State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change meant that all students would take the same math classes from grades 6 through 8. The district at the same time adjusted the curricula for middle school math classes to better align with state standards: While students aren\u2019t taking a class called \u201cAlgebra 1\u201d in 8th grade, they are still covering almost all the concepts they would have previously, like linear equations, proportional relationships and systems of equations. They should know everything they need going into their 8th grade standardized testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barnes said all students, but especially Black, Latino and low-income students, are better prepared to succeed in Algebra 1 if they focus on learning these foundations in middle school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe concepts from Algebra 1 were pulled apart and redistributed in more thoughtful ways,\u201d she said. \u201cWe wanted to interrupt racialized outcomes associated with math.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The San Francisco Unified School District Building in San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2021. Nina Riggio for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ridgeway and other parents of high-achieving students said the district was holding back students. But Barnes said the Algebra 1 now taught in 9th grade is more advanced than the one taught in 8th grade prior to 2014. The curriculum now includes concepts from Algebra 2 and data science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the district\u2019s framework, students can decide whether they want to take more advanced math classes in high school once they have a better understanding of their own interests and skill levels in math. Before 2014, Barnes said, students were placed onto pathways, or \u201ctracks,\u201d far too early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the most important thing we want to convey is that students who want to achieve higher level mathematics are able to,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cWe\u2019re not taking anything away from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco\u2019s mixed math results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fewer students across all demographics failed Algebra 1 in the years after the district adopted the rule in 2014, according to the district. It reported more students across all racial demographics<\/a> have enrolled in both advanced math and completed more math and science credits during their high school careers since the policy was adopted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It really helped the bottom and average achieving students to take more math,\u201d said former board member Murase. \u201cThe big surprise was that students took more science as a result. That was an unintended consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But standardized test data paints a more complicated picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Districtwide, the percentage of students meeting what the state considers an appropriate level of math knowledge increased by 2.6 percentage points between the 2014-15<\/a> and the 2018-19<\/a> school years. The percentage of Black and Latino students meeting standards also increased by 2.6 points. But the gap between the percentage of low-income students and the percentage of students district-wide meeting standards has grown by 2 points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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