California educators say the state's bold plan to change math instruction could help or hurt students in grades K-12.
The new framework would keep all students in the same courses until their junior year of high school, when they can choose advanced subjects like calculus and statistics.
The plan has drawn critics who say it will hold back gifted students, while supporters say it will elevate the achievement of all students.
But Jo Boaler, professor of mathematics at Stanford University, told KCBS Radio that the benefits of teaching math differently have long-lasting impacts.
“Honoring students’ thinking and discussion, achievement is much higher and so is kids’ interest,” she said. “I think if you asked any adults, or most adults in the U.S., they’ll tell you their math in school was boring.”
The proposed guidelines are meant to make mathematical understanding more accessible to all students, including those shut out from high-level math in the past because they had been trapped in lower-level classes.
“It would be a lot more decided by what work students do, rather than somebody in a district saying ‘I’m going to decide in sixth grade that half of you are not going onto this higher pathway’,” Boaler added.
A final decision will be made in November by the state board of education.
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