[American Thinker] It is really a struggle to imagine what the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has in mind by discussing the elimination of accelerated math classes in schools until 11th grade in the name of equity. The story broke in April 2021and shortly thereafter, the VDOE leadership was backpedaling due to parent backlash. "Absolutely, acceleration is NOT going away in mathematics courses in Virginia, if a student needs an accelerated pathway they will absolutely get it," said Superintendent Dr. James Lane. So, exactly what is meant by an "accelerated pathway"? It's obviously not an advanced or accelerated course or classroom. This sounds confusingly similar to the malarkey being proffered by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommending students find their ways on common pathways to learn Essential Concepts.
The NCTM and VDOE initiatives lack discussion on structure, sequence, topics, courses, classrooms, and advancement and most important, how the cornerstones of high school math -- algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus – will survive the restructuring.
What is really happening is a rare reveal of liberal orthodoxy exposed in the sausage-making process. I doubt the ideas are going away, they just won't resurface until better disguised.
Eliminating accelerated math courses for middle and high school students is simply a bad idea with serious consequences. For starters, Virginia will have far fewer students accepted into engineering programs of study at U.S. colleges. Thereafter, Virginia's engineering universities will be faced with watering down admission requirements for its own state students. Ultimately, Virginia students who are accepted into in-state and out-of-state engineering programs will not be able to compete with students from other states.
Math classes are the backbone of a high school student's body of work for those pursuing engineering. The normal sequence of classes offered toward high school graduation is Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. Accelerated math students can handle Algebra 1 in 8th grade, which puts them on a trajectory to take full calculus (even AP Calculus) before graduating high school. According to PrepScholar's article "How to Get Into College as an Engineer: 5 Key Factors":