<p>In D’s high-school, there are four or five tracks in math from remedial through accelerated. Only the top track is proof-based. </p>
<p>What they’ve found, though, when they started letting kids advance in math at their own pace is that a fair number of kids could go much faster than they had given credit for. Ten years ago when S was in junior high, the top level was doing algebra on a track to finish Calc B/C as seniors. That’s the track D (sophomore) is on, but almost a full class of 8th graders are being bused to the high school for accelerated algebra II/Trig. In our system that means that they’re a full three years above grade level. They’l be done with Calc B/C by sophomore year and the school is having to completely revamp its advanced math curriculum.</p>
<p>That suggests to me that a more rigorous math curriculum for the lower tracks makes sense, too. Kids often rise to the occasion. If we stop telling them that “math is hard” and start teaching math (rather than arithmetic) earlier, I think a lot of people would be surprised at the results. </p>
<p>BTW, one of my pet peeves is how math and arithmetic are confounded in our school district. S was quite good at arithmetic and sucks at math. D is the opposite. (That being said she missed two easy questions on the PSAT because she added wrong. <em>pounds head on desk</em>)</p>