# Virginia educrats drop the hammer on advanced math education

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-educrats-drop-the-hammer-on-advanced-math-education/940396>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [April 20, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-educrats-drop-the-hammer-on-advanced-math-education/940396 "2021-04-20T19:24:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 76

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**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-educrats-drop-the-hammer-on-advanced-math-education/940396/76 "2021-04-24T22:11:47Z")

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> [@ZosterSandstorm](#):
>
> The idea that a teacher is going to somehow teach multiple courses at the same time when teaching students in ability cohorts right now is hard enough is a fantasy, especially given the ideological drivers of this proposal. It’s hard enough to get the least-capable students to understand geometry in 10th grade, somehow we’re going to do that AND teach trig to the advanced students in the same classroom at the same time? How? Where has this ever worked? Who is going to subject themselves to it instead of moving to a school district in another state that doesn’t purport to be trying such nonsense? (The answer to the last question, of course, is, “teachers who have no other choice” - in addition to the best students this change will also drive off the best math teachers and reduce median quality there.)
> 
> They’re just going to teach to the level of the biggest dullard in the room and let everyone else wither, as is the intent.

I have personal experience of this since my high school in the UK (ages 11 - 16) was opposed to tracking. Ironically, it did still track for maths after age 14, probably because it’s one of the subjects with the widest range of abilities and it would have been impossible to teach all levels in one group.

Mostly the teachers taught to a level somewhat below the average. The poorest students were unable to keep up and would get what small amount of individual attention the teacher was able to spare them. In the last few years we were preparing for exams, and the teachers were effectively forced to teach 3 different courses in one class, which meant each student got only 1/3 of the teaching and attention they would have had if we’d been tracked. Any teacher is going to have a harder job teaching a really wide range of abilities, and have less time left to give attention to any one student.

Unlike **Kimstu** ’s experience, all my maths teachers after high school complained that we had not been taught the necessary prerequisites (though this is not due to lack of advanced courses, but the dumbing down of exams so that schools can achieve better ratings) and we spent our time struggling to catch up to where we should be.

I bet the great majority of the posters in this thread did do some sort of advanced education at school and don’t have the experience to say this proposal is better. Am I right?

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