![]() ![]() White high school students take calculus at over twice the rate that Black high school students do. ![]() When you look at the data by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, the current calculus-as-gatekeeper system becomes even more problematic. Given those high course failure rates, it is not hard to see that the 25% of college calculus students who never took calculus in high school are at a tremendous disadvantage. It seems to be a national expectation that a significant percentage of students will be lost-indeed, should be lost-from a STEM pathway after taking college calculus. I have been amazed to discover that across the country it is typical that 25 or 30% of students who take their first calculus course in college fail. The inequity is heightened by higher education’s continued reliance on calculus as a gatekeeperĪnother problem is the common perception in our colleges and universities that calculus should still serve as a filter that makes sure students who are “not worthy,” are not allowed to proceed on a STEM path. Students who have not been exposed to the difficult concepts in calculus, who have not been introduced to the basic terminology or to the big ideas, are at a considerable disadvantage. As a result, the remaining 25% of students who have never seen calculus before have to compete with students who are retaking a course they have already completed. Over 75% of students enrolled in a typical first calculus course in college have already taken it in high school. The ubiquitous importance, yet inequitable availability, of calculus in high school has become a serious problem. public high schools where Black and Latinx students make up the majority of enrollment, only 38% offer calculus. You can go back and read papers from those who created this system who saw that there might be problems down the road as a larger and more diverse population of students enrolled in postsecondary education.Ī major source of inequity in mathematics education is access to calculus in high school. As a result of these decisions, we now have a system that for over half a century has put all students on a track headed for calculus, until they run out of steam, hit a wall, or, for a select few who are lucky enough, manage to pass and have the entire field of mathematics open up to them at the postsecondary level.Įven back in the sixties, educators realized that the system was being geared toward a very homogeneous group of students-white, middle-class, and male. The seemingly singular goal of high school mathematics became the preparation of students for college calculus. The very conscious decision made in the 1950s and 1960s to emphasize calculus at the postsecondary level in order to prepare engineers and physicists has profoundly shaped mathematics instruction in high school. Unfortunately, the structure of mathematics education in the US-and the opportunities it affords today’s students-is highly inequitable. Mathematics education and access to calculus in the United States is inequitable I have been able to learn from the expertise of mathematicians teaching at all levels who are working to make mathematics instruction more equitable. One of the great benefits of being the director of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences is the opportunity to work intimately with the 19 professional societies in the mathematical sciences.
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