San Francisco middle schools will again teach Algebra I this fall after a 6-1 vote by the district board. Axios reports: Roughly one-third of SFUSD's middle schools will begin offering the course to eighth graders this fall, with about one-third of 13 middle schools and six kindergarten through eighth-grade schools, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He plans to do so. Students at other campuses can access the course through online classes or summer school, but it will take three years for the school to make the transition. Otherwise, eighth graders will have to wait until high school to take the course.
District officials will consider the best way to enroll students on a trial basis in the district's first schools this fall. The first approach is to enroll all eighth graders. The second method prioritizes student interest and readiness. The third would give students the option of taking Algebra I in addition to her current 8th grade math curriculum.
Tuesday's 6-1 vote by the San Francisco Unified School District board ends a decade-long battle over access to high-level math courses for eighth graders and a larger debate over equity in academic opportunity and math grades. It was held at the end of SFUSD previously taught 8th grade algebra. But in 2014, the board voted to wait until high school to address racial disparities caused by some students moving into advanced math classes earlier. Research shows that inequalities such as socioeconomic status, language differences, and implicit bias often hinder Black and Latino students' educational pursuits and lead to lower enrollment rates in higher-level classes. I know. Yes, but: Stanford University researchers found last year that large racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math enrollment persisted even after policy changes.
