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Math skills taught in today’s classrooms have the potential to solve problems and change our future. From models used to predict public health outcomes to data that drive apportionment of legislative seats, the importance of using math for the collective good needs to inform our debates about math content, instruction, and assessment.

Did you know that, in 2019, about 16 percent of that year’s high school graduates had taken calculus? The 16 percent figure is known thanks to a transcript study periodically conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This data source and others Just Equations has relied on may not continue to be available, given recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Education.

At Just Equations, we advocate for policies grounded in facts, not ideology. It is concerning that some of the recent presidential executive orders seem to be rejecting not just empathy, but also evidence. Rather than focus on labels such as “diversity” and “equity,” policy decisions should focus on practices that strengthen our economy, foster innovation, and lead to better social outcomes for all.

It’s not that math learning isn’t important, it’s that its importance for professional opportunities is sometimes exaggerated. Math achievement can function more as a golden ticket to advanced opportunity than as a source of essential skills, an idea that is explored in two articles that recently came to my attention. 

The path from eighth to ninth grade is a big step for many students — bigger than many even realize. Some students, along with their parents, understand that the math courses they take starting in middle school could determine their college options and potential career choices.