Equity in the Math Classroom 

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has been working since 2014 on proposals to increase equity and diversity in mathematics education. “Equity in the mathematics classroom” was once seen merely as an effort to ensure that problems and lessons included equitable depictions of race, socio-economic status, and gender.  

Today, equity and inclusion are about increasing achievement expectations, transforming traditional pedagogy, appreciating neurodiversity, and engaging with culturally responsive teaching—and that requires high quality instruction. Implementing these new approaches, and discussing them with parents, is a great way to boost a school’s practice and vision of equity for all students. When we say “all students,” we are including especially those who historically have either not had access to mathematics education, or have been perceived as less successful in their math education, or stereotyped as less competent in mathematics based on their gender, neurodiversity, race, socio-economic status, or generational status as the first in a family attending an independent school. Implementing new approaches, and discussing them with parents, is a great way to boost elevate a school’s practice and cultivate a vision of equity. 

Instructional Excellence at All Levels

Many schools put their most experienced and mathematically prepared teachers in upper-level courses. Those instructors need to be teaching at all levels if a school truly wants all students to access to the highest-quality instruction. This need for excellence in instruction cannot be understated, especially in non-honors courses where we most often see the placement of traditionally marginalized students of mathematics. In one JustEquations report it is stated that “underserved high achievers who took advanced math courses…had math teachers who emphasized the logical structure of math, explaining math ideas, and increasing students’ interest in math,” (Baker, M., Morgan, I. & Wade, G. 2023).  Excellence in teaching should be a typical classroom experience for all students. As administrators and leaders in the independent education space, we must create learning opportunities for all teachers to facilitate their professional growth as educators – not just the most experienced or most credentialed. 

Supporting and encouraging students isn’t enough: instructors will need deep knowledge, the ability to hold high expectations, insistence on homework completion, and a focus on independent work which can’t be reserved solely for “honors” classes. Teachers need to expect the same high-standards of quality in work from students at all levels— not only in mathematics, but in every academic discipline. 

The issue of high-quality instruction is highly intertwined with the race to calculus. To prepare all students for calculus, we need to support underrepresented students by offering courses at the level and acceleration that helps them reach this goal, and most schools currently do not offer a “track” that matches these needs. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science and neurodiverse learner, said that in mathematics “we persist in a rigid approach that rewards those who ‘get it’ and leaves the rest—including those with the very kinds of minds our economy and our future most desperately need—with a sense of profound failure,” (Grandin, 2022).  For many high school students, getting to calculus should not be the goal—and the inappropriate pursuit of calculus can hinder a student’s confidence and advancement in mathematics—which is why a diverse array of courses is essential. 

Conclusion

Media coverage suggests the importance of—and the current decline in—learning in mathematics, and recent trends in parenting have exacerbated these declines. Indeed, in every academic subject, students have been discouraged from advocating for themselves when it comes to placement, course preferences, or the college process. When facing struggles with coursework, students often lose agency to their parents.  

There will always be a range of parents, just as there is a range of students. But as educators, we can do more to better guide students and parents through the course selection process with an eye towards college planning. In collaboration with college counseling teams, we can explain how common transcript inclusions like calculus may not be what’s best for everyone, and we can help bring acceleration, enrichment, and high-quality teaching to every student in our care.