Parent Math Discussions

PTSA Math Discussion Nights in 2017, 2018, 2019, & 2020

identified the following parental concerns

• Many students who did well with Eureka Math in middle school struggle at BHS

• Most students who struggled with math in middle school never catch up at BHS

• There are deficits in the Math 1-2-3 Math Vision Project curriculum 

  • There is no textbook, math concepts are not clearly labeled

  • The examples provided in the module units are insufficient 

  • New concepts presume mastery of past concepts without any review

  • There’s not enough context for students to find videos on their own

• Classroom policies are teacher specific 

  • Some teachers allow re-test and/or test correction, others do not

  • The weight of class participation, tests, and homework varies in grading

  • Some emphasize learning in groups versus from the teacher

  • No one corrects homework so students can’t learn from their mistakes

  • Some let students see and keep their tests, some do not

  • Students who fail math might succeed with a different teacher

  • Most but not all teachers use the same final exams

• There is no way to measure the math proficiency of BHS students

  • As mentioned above, grading policies are teacher specific

  • Final exam scores are not aggregated in a database for DIstrict review (ex LCAP))

  • The State’s Standards Based Achievement (SBA) test is only taken in 11th grade

  • Class of 2021 did not take SBA, the class of 2022 may not.

• Equity issues are obvious

  • Prior to distance learning not all students had internet access

  • Approximately 50% of past PTA Discussion night attendees hire private tutors

  • Attending afterschool tutoring is not an option for many students

• Although parents have shared and voiced these concerns, nothing has been done

  • The District and BHS Administration cannot dictate uniform classroom policies

  • Dropping the MVP curriculum is not on BHS’s or the School Board’s agenda

Participants in the November 2020 Math Discussion night discussed ongoing concerns and surfaced new facets of how distance learning complicates how math is taught and exacerbates how students struggle.