A teacher helps a student with a math problem.
Credit: Sarah Tully /EdSource
Deep, active learning of mathematics for all students.
We applaud this goal of California’s new math framework, an increasingly urgent priority in our data-rich, technology-enhanced age. However, the framework is only a guideline. Ensuring that schools and classrooms have the resources — including appropriate policies and high-quality teachers — to achieve the goal entails repairing fractures in our education landscape.
Consider high school graduation requirements, which are literally all over the map:
- Students in San Francisco and Palo Alto complete a minimum of three math courses, including Algebra II. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, East Palo Alto students attending Sequoia Union high schools can finish with just two years of math, and just one year of algebra. So can students in Sacramento.
- Los Angeles has a three-year math requirement…
