via sfexaminer:
The San Francisco Unified School District will reexamine its math curriculum following a near decadelong outcry from parents who have been incensed that the district stripped algebra from middle school curriculum.
Now, voters will get to weigh in on whether algebra should be offered in eighth grade.
A March 2024 ballot initiative was launched by city supervisors Joel Engardio and Ahsha Safai last week to urge the school district to put algebra back in its middle schools after the district shifted to offer algebra in high school only in 2014, claiming doing so closed an equity gap among students.
Conversely, a study by Stanford University released earlier this year showed the move actually widened that gap. Students of color were performing worse on standardized tests, and opponents said that the policy held advanced students back.
At a board of supervisors meeting last week, Safai called the move to eliminate offering algebra in eighth grade a “failed experiment.”
“We must recognize that it didn’t deliver on the promises of equity,” he said.
For nearly a decade, parents and advocacy groups, as well as leaders in STEM education, pushed back against eliminating the course from middle school classrooms. But the district has not moved to bring it back.
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