A story back in April reported that the Virginia Department of Education is considering eliminating all accelerated math options prior to the 11th grade. Students who perform well in math will no longer be allowed to advance to upper level math study when they are ready to move ahead.
Loudoun County school board member Ian Serotkin explained that the Virginia Mathematics Pathway Initiative (VMPI), "as currently planned, … will eliminate ALL math acceleration prior to 11th grade.”
He said that it “is not an exaggeration, nor does there appear to be any discretion in how local districts implement this. All 6th graders will take Foundational Concepts 6. All 7th graders will take Foundational Concepts 7. All 10th graders will take Essential Concepts 10. Only in 11th and 12th grade is there any opportunity for choice in higher math courses."
So, the best math students, the worst math students, and those in between will move through the math curriculum together, and at the same speed. Those blessed with exceptional math skills will be prevented from advancing to higher levels, moving along at the slower pace of the lesser skilled.
On April 27, Norfolk’s The Virginian Pilot, however, published a story with comments from state Superintendent James Lane. “I’ve seen articles that say ‘Virginia is doing X, Y or Z,’” he said. “Virginia is not doing anything right now. … We are literally just having conversations with the community about what they want.”
Virginia’s math standards are reviewed every seven years, and there are two years remaining before the next revision. But this concept is being seriously discussed, and there is a significant degree of support for it.
This concept is a step toward “equity,” an element of the woke culture, and one of its goals. Merriam-Webster defines equity as “freedom from bias or favoritism.” But to the woke it means that no one is better at anything that everyone else.
Under equity, everyone should make the same grades in all subjects. Everyone should make the same money at work. Everyone must be at the same level in all things. It is unfair that some should be recognized as better than others, ever.
Most understand the reality that we are not all the same. Some of us are tall, some not so much. Some run faster or are stronger than others. Some can play an instrument or sing better than others, or are better in a dramatic part than others. Some are better at math than others, but the others may be better at history, science, English, geography or other things than the math scholar.
Each person has her or his stronger areas, and weaker areas. That is human nature. Some folks strongly resent this reality, and work to make everyone equal in all things.
However, in order to produce the most effective and strongest nation possible, our education system — public schools and private schools — must recognize those inherent strengths and weaknesses, and work to advance students to their peak in their strong areas and help them improve in their weaker areas.
If people cannot advance in subjects like math until their junior year in high school, they may never reach their full math potential. And this concept might be applied to other subjects, as well. The nation cannot afford to hold back it’s brightest in any area of study just to try to keep everybody even. First, that is an impossible task, and second, it is a foolish, dangerous goal.
Depending upon which evaluation system you read, the United States is either near the top, or as far down as 26th on the list for best education in the world.
However, the U.S. education system “is not as internationally competitive as it used to be; in fact, the United States has slipped ten spots in both high school and college graduation rates over the past three decades,” according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations.
And, the World Top 20 Project does not list the United States in its top 20 nations in either 2020, or 2021.
The STEM areas — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — are critical to the future. If the VMPI takes hold and is applied to other educational areas and spreads inside the country, the United States will be focused on equity among the younger generations, rather than on enhancing their learning and advancement.
This will lead to a national weakening, making us subject to the will of other nations. In fact, the U.S. has already weakened.
The National Interest magazine reports that the Pentagon released its annual report entitled “US Defense Industrial Base Industrial Capabilities Report January 2021,” on the state of the U.S. defense and manufacturing industrial base. There “are innumerable takeaways from the report but a consistent and glaring deficiency throughout reveals an erosion and degradation of the U.S. STEM education system and a severe shortage of technical talent in the U.S. workplace,” the Pentagon report said.
Rather than try to create “equity” among people, the United States education system must focus on developing the talents of young people to their fullest, so that we can remain a strong presence in the world. The alternative is simply not acceptable.
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