SF brings back algebra
San Francisco’s school board voted to restore algebra as an option in all middle schools, reversing a decade‑long policy aimed at equity and opening the door to earlier advanced math for students. (nytimes.com)
SFUSD’s implementation document, presented to the board the week of March 24, lays out three delivery models: “Expanded Math” at 19 schools (students meeting criteria are automatically enrolled in both Math 8 and Algebra I but may opt out), a two‑school compression pilot that covers Math 6–8 plus Algebra I across three years, and online/summer Algebra I options for sites not piloting during the school day. (sfusd.edu) An independent, preregistered evaluation of the 2024–25 pilots was released with the district’s materials and named Dr. Elizabeth Huffaker and Dr. Thomas Dee as lead researchers. (go.boarddocs.com) That evaluation found the “Additional Math Course” prototype produced large learning gains—described as nearly an extra year on state assessments—and lower algebra‑repeat rates in grade 9 (about 9.4%), while the “Algebra‑for‑All” prototype showed no detectable gains on grade‑8 state assessments and higher repeat rates in grade 9 (about 19.2%). (go.boarddocs.com) Pilot sites were identified by prototype: AMC (Aptos, Brown, Everett, Francisco, Marina, Presidio), Algebra‑for‑All (Gianinni, Roosevelt, Alice Fong Yu), and a compression course at Rooftop K‑8, with summer and online Algebra I available as supplemental pathways. (go.boarddocs.com) The shift reverses a decade‑old detracking policy first enacted in the 2014–15 school year that moved accelerated algebra out of middle school, and a 2024 nonbinding city ballot produced an 83,916‑to‑16,105 tally in favor of returning algebra to the middle grades. (educationnext.org) District leaders acknowledge capacity constraints: staff noted they piloted prototypes at roughly one‑third of K‑8 and middle schools in 2024–25 and offered online and summer Algebra I for non‑pilot sites, and outside coverage has flagged concerns about a shortage of qualified math teachers to scale in‑person classes. (go.boarddocs.com) SFUSD’s rollout sets concrete performance targets—raising the share of students meeting grade‑level math standards from 42% in 2022 to 65% by 2027—and the district hosted a March 23 webinar in which two Stanford professors who studied the pilots presented the research; a recording was posted March 24. (sfusd.edu)
