More maths, not less, will lead students to succeed

A group of middle school girls is puzzling over a pie chart about reading habits in the US. Their “maths designer” stands at the front of the room, encouraging students to share what they “notice and wonder.” A data talk, as it’s known, is meant to empower students to ask questions about the data-filled world around them and embrace uncertainty. Teachers aren’t experts but fellow explorers.

Welcome to Youcubed, a Stanford-designed data-science course. This one was taught at an all-girls STEM middle school in Palo Alto, California, where tuition costs more than $50,000. Across the nation, schools are incorporating Youcubed and similar coursework into their maths curricula to engage struggling students. In some states, such classes have become a substitute for Algebra 2, according to the Tribune News Service.

Educators and administrators in recent years have been eager to reimagine maths instruction. Troubled by high failure rates in traditional high school classes, many have embraced trendy curricula that seek to make maths more fun, incorporating coursework that feels more relevant to students than, say, dividing polynomials.

Such approaches, though well-intentioned, tend to lower standards. Not only are core maths concepts missing by design, but the rigorous statistics and computer science skills needed for more advanced coursework are also lacking. That can leave students mistakenly believing they’re preparing for jobs of the future, or opting for easier classes that boost their GPAs but foreclose opportunities down the line. Troublingly, the kids who need the most support — often from underrepresented groups — are at greatest risk of falling further behind.

This experiment couldn’t come at a worse time. For decades, students have been failed by misguided teaching strategies and overzealous unions — a trend exacerbated by bizarre complacency around pandemic-era norms, from chronic absenteeism to the elimination of timed and standardized testing. Today, almost 80% of 12th graders score below national proficiency standards. And while data science isn’t the main culprit, its proliferation means more kids are taking less math.

Consider California’s misadventures as a cautionary tale. About a decade ago, the state’s university system began accepting certain data-science courses — including Youcubed — as a replacement for Algebra 2. Supporters set out to revise state guidelines, pitching data science as an alternative to the “Eisenhower-era” progression from algebra to calculus that many students find alienating. Data science, by contrast, would equip kids with “practical skills” for a “newly data-rich world.”

Many maths professors were appalled. In 2022, some 1,700 academics and other quantitative professionals warned in an open letter that elevating “shallow courses over foundational skills would cause lasting damage to STEM education in the country,” noting the minimal evidence supporting such changes. One computer science professor called such courses a “misleading path to nowhere.”

California ultimately changed course. Yet other states including Connecticut, Maryland, Utah and Virginia are testing out similar ideas. Ohio has been accepting data science as a substitute for Algebra 2 since 2022.

To be sure, student engagement is important. But math becomes fun when you practice, and to that end interventions must start early. Elementary educators should ensure students master their facts, including multiplication tables, and become comfortable with fractions. Only then can they pass gateway courses such as Algebra 1, which when completed by ninth grade is highly correlated with earning a bachelor’s degree (in any field) and increased earnings.