San Francisco Votes To Teach Algebra in Middle School a Decade After Scrapping the Course in the Name of Equity

San Francisco is reversing course after its decade-old decision to take Algebra I out of middle school in the name of equity failed to achieve its stated goal.On Tuesday evening, the San Francisco Unified School District, SFUSD, board voted 4-3 to restore Algebra I to middle schools. In 2014, the SFUSD board voted to take Algebra I out of middle school curricula. The move was in response to disappointment with the number of students who achieved Algebra II proficiency by 10th grade. At the time, the board said that it hoped the move would reduce academic “tracking,” or sorting students into higher or lower math tiers. The goal was to limit what the board said were racial disparities in advanced math placement, as some students were moving more quickly to advanced classes. However, research found that since that decision, enrollment in AP math in high school dropped by 15 percent. A study by a team at Stanford University found that racial disparities, which the SFUSD sought to remedy, were largely unchanged. Under the new plan, Algebra I will be optional for 8th graders, with students allowed to take it as an elective alongside their standard math class. Some students who qualify will be able to take it as their primary math class.The 2014 decision to remove Algebra I from middle schools led to a lawsuit. In 2022, it was a key issue in a successful recall of three school board members. And in 2024, 82 percent of San Francisco voters passed a resolution that called on the school board to reinstate Algebra I in middle school. The mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, celebrated the decision on X, writing, “Algebra is returning to 8th grade public school classrooms in San Francisco — a major step forward for our students and our families.”“Since day one, we’ve pushed SFUSD to focus on getting back to the basics. For San Francisco to be a world-class city, we need a world-class public education system. By expanding access to Algebra, we are preparing every student for success in high school and beyond,” he said. Tuesday’s vote comes two years after the SFUSD experimented with a two-year pilot program for 10 schools. One program, which had all 8th graders take Algebra I, was quickly dropped. A Stanford University evaluation found that in the schools where the class was offered as an elective, students who were eligible for it — as well as those who were ineligible — showed significant learning gains.

San Francisco Votes To Teach Algebra in Middle School a Decade After Scrapping the Course in the Name of Equity

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