Why Math is the Greatest Equalizer in School

The Harvard EdCast

Math has a problem when it comes to equitable learning. The way math is taught and how students are tracked is part of the issue, according to Kentaro Iwasaki, a former math teacher who led new math standards in California and now works with school districts nationwide to overhaul their math programs. Tracking in math contributes to segregation, with Black and brown students often placed in lower-track classes compared to their white and Asian counterparts, he says.

“When we go into classes or schools, almost every high school is tracked. With the doors closed and just looking through the window of a classroom, if you just look inside, you can pretty much tell what is a high track class and what's a low track class just based on the student demographics. And that's really unacceptable in our education system today, and particularly this is problematic in math.”

The negative impact of tracking carries over into students' self-concept, classroom dynamics, and overall educational experiences.

As a math teacher, Iwasaki dismantled an honors math program at Mission High School in San Francisco. This change resulted in increased AP enrollment and passing rates for all students, challenging the notion that tracking is necessary for academic success.

“Math is being used as a vehicle to maintain segregation in our education system and that it's more comfortable for parents, particularly parents with social, cultural, political capital, to argue for segregation under the guise of mathematics and saying, ‘Well, my student is at this level, so therefore should be in this class,’ and really kept away from Black and brown students,” Iwasaki says. “No parent is going to outright say that, but in my work with parent communities and listening in and attending school board and school committee meetings, that very much is the underlying conversation and that is what district leaders, district systems, really need to confront.”

In this episode, we discuss the concept of complex instruction, the value of de-tracking math, and how like-minded educators can forge a new identity for math in schools.