My last post was about the documentary Counted Out. I am hoping that the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics will be able to hold a virtual showing of this film in August or September. If that happens, I'll be sure to announce it on my blog.
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If you are
wondering which students are counted out in today's math classrooms, I
encourage you and your students to read this blog by Just Equations: (Not
Yet) Hidden Figures: Preserving Data for the Future of Education. |
The blog states:"One of the motivations for this blog's focus is the knowledge that this data source and other Just Equations has relied on may not contiue to be available, given recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Education." Data related to the demographics of students who complete various math and science courses can be found in this chapter of a report called High School Mathematics and Science Course Completion. If I was still in the classroom, I would probably show my AP Statistics and AP Calculus students a few of the graphs and ask them to tell me the story shown by those graphs. The graphs I found most fascinating were the following:
Figure 2: Percentage of public and private high school graduates who completed selected mathematics and science courses in high school, by race/ethnicity: 2019
Figure 4. Percentage of public and private high school graduates who completed selected mathematics and science courses in high school, by school type: 2019
Figure 5. Percentage of public and private high school graduates who completed selected mathematics and science courses in high school, by percentage of students at their school who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch: 2019
After discussing the story of the graphs, we would look at the report itself, how the data was gathered and the conclusions that were drawn by the authors. Finally, I would have the students reflect on what surprised them the most about the data and encourage them to share their new understanding with parents and other adults in their sphere.
Note: If you want to learn more about Just Equations and their work to support equity in math education, I would encourage you to read their report called The Mathematics of Opportunity: Rethinking the Role of Math in Educational Equity. This report would be a good companion to accompany a discussion about the documentary Counted Out.