Why Did San Francisco Schools Stop Teaching Algebra in Middle School? (2016)

While SFUSD insists that its new approach does not compromise the rigor of its education, but ensures that all students enter high school with the same mathematical foundation, many parents see the district’s new standards as a dumbing down of the curriculum. “If you go back 15 or 20 years, a good many students weren’t even allowed to take algebra,” explains Jim Ryan, STEM executive director at the San Francisco Unified School District. Though many districts across the state are moving towards the Common Core recommendations, Domina calls San Francisco “unusual relative to other California districts” in its decision to phase out eighth grade Algebra I entirely.

Source: priceonomics.com