Join CMC in support of the draft Mathematics FrameworkThe California Mathematics Council has prepared a letter in support of the first draft of the CA Mathematics Framework. We are seeking signatures to support this effort from mathematicians, scientists, statisticians, educators, parents, caregivers, advisory groups, community members, and anyone who is interested in giving each student in California access to a quality mathematics education. An email and open letter are were circulated by the Independent Institute. The open letter addressed to the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, and the Instructional Quality Commission, requests that they reject and replace the draft Mathematics Framework. Our letter is a vigorous response in support of
Join us to show your support of the draft Mathematics Framework as indicated in this CMC letter by signing the letter as an organization and/or as an individual. Continue on this page (see below) to read the CMC letter of support. The link to sign on to the letter is provided both here and immediately following the letter. Sign the Letter HereTHIS PAGE INCLUDES:
CMC SUPPORT LETTER BEGINS HERE:Read the Letter Below or Download a copy To: Governor Gavin Newsom, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, and Manuel Rustin, Chair of the Instructional al Quality Commission Re: Support for the draft Mathematics Framework This letter supports the intent and major shifts represented in the first approved draft Mathematics Framework and its focus on equity in mathematics education. We, the undersigned, mathematicians, scientists, statisticians, educators, parents, caregivers, advisory groups, and community members, believe in a rich mathematics education that supports all students to succeed in TK–12 mathematics while preparing students for college and career. The current draft Framework challenges longstanding and outdated beliefs and practices and instead recommends research-based approaches that provide access and future success for all students through creating a meaningful and rigorous mathematics experience beginning with early childhood education. The draft Mathematics Framework is being developed in accordance with guidelines approved by the California State Board of Education. The California Mathematics Framework development process was intentionally designed as an iterative process to focus on current research and best practices, gather input and feedback from various stakeholders, and respond to and incorporate feedback provided throughout the process (California Department of Education, 2021). The purpose of the revised framework is to provide guidance to educators and districts throughout the state as they implement the California State Standards for Mathematics (California State Board of Education, 2013) through instructional practices that support and sustain a culture of access and equity that requires being responsive to students’ backgrounds, experiences, cultural perspectives, traditions, and knowledge (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2014). The standards, the mathematics to be taught, remain unchanged from those adopted in 2013. An open letter from The Independent Institute, dated July 2021, was written to Governor Gavin Newsom, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, the State Board of Education, and the Instructional Quality Commission using unsubstantiated claims to criticize the draft Mathematics Framework and urging its replacement, particularly its emphasis on social justice and the inclusion of additional mathematics pathways that enable more students to be successful in mathematics. We vehemently disagree with this open letter and the unfounded claims and false statements it includes regarding the effect the draft Mathematics Framework will have on students’ mathematics understanding and their success in mathematics. The open letter states, “A real champion of equity and justice would want all California’s children to learn actual math—as in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus—not an endless river of new pedagogical fads that effectively distort and displace actual math.” This statement illustrates a profound lack of understanding regarding California’s State Standards for Mathematics and the role of the Mathematics Framework. The standards include arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus, as adopted by the SBE in 2013 (California State Board of Education, 2013). We value the role that mathematics can play in highlighting and ultimately addressing social injustice and reject the idea that mathematics should be removed from discussions of inequality. The draft Mathematics Framework offers ways for all students to have access to learning rigorous mathematics through many ways, including connections to other disciplines, bringing in students’ experiences, and connecting to their communities and the world. The open letter represents a narrow view of mathematics, where the teacher and the textbook are the sole authority, and learning is focused on transmitting information from the teacher to the students (Freire, 1970; Lampert, 1990). This view of mathematics does not reflect the existing research, and it systematically acts as an unnecessary gatekeeper that denies many students access to rigorous mathematics courses that prepare them for career and college. This narrow view and teaching methods informed by it have produced years of data and research that reveal that we are not serving the majority of our students well, especially students of color, students with special needs, students with primary languages that are not English, and students from a variety of different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds (“California School Dashboard,” 2017; Martin, 2006; Zavala, 2014). Currently, less than half of our California students satisfy the A-G requirements, thus limiting their choices and opportunities for college and career (California Department of Education et al., 2019; Xie, 2019). Many of the shifts in the draft Mathematics Framework are in direct response to the marginalization many students in California have had, and continue to face, in mathematics. In contrast, the draft Mathematics Framework provides guidance and support based on current research promoting inclusive approaches in teaching mathematics to meet the needs of all students. The draft Mathematics Framework embraces a multidimensional view of mathematics that values multiple strategies, emphasizes connections between ideas, and engages students in learning through making conjectures, exploring mathematical properties, explaining their reasoning, validating assertions, and discussing and questioning their thinking and the thinking of others (Lampert, 1990). This broad, engaging, and inclusive view of mathematics increases student access to college- and career-preparatory courses. It supports a modernized mathematics sequence which offers multiple pathways that provide mathematically rich and rigorous options for students, that are “personally and socially relevant, and that enable students to move across pathways as their interests and aspirations evolve . . .” (Charles A. Dana Center, 2020). While the open letter states, “Mathematics is a discipline whose language is universally accessible with good teaching,” it promotes a return to teaching strategies that perpetuate the long history of replicating the damaging patterns of who belongs and what counts as mathematics (Meyer, 2019). On the other hand, the draft Mathematics Framework ambitiously advocates for a rigorous mathematics education experience that provides all students with:
We, the undersigned, mathematicians, scientists, statisticians, educators, advisory groups, and community members, fully support and respect the aims of the draft Mathematics Framework, its use of educational research to guide decision making, and its significant focus on social justice. We reject both the outdated ideas presented in the open letter, their opposition to the critical role of social justice in elevating mathematics learning for all students, and their offensive rejection of the contributions of marginalized people in mathematics. We are in support of the first approved draft Mathematics Framework and anticipate the release of the revised chapters and the second sixty-day review period. In signing this letter, we urge Governor Gavin Newsom, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, and Manuel Rustin, Chair of the Instructional al Quality Commission to listen to mathematicians, scientists, statisticians, educators, parents, caregivers, advisory groups, and community members dedicated to equity and also reject the claims made in the Independent Institute’s open letter attempting to preserve a system that does not adequately serve the overwhelming majority of California’s students. References California Department of Education. (n.d.). California School Dashboard and System of Support. Retrieved June 9, 2021, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/cm/ California Department of Education. (2021). Mathematics Framework. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/ California Department of Education, EdSource, & Team, F. C. & M. A. (2019). Ed Data: Education Data Partnership. California School Dashboard. (2017). Retrieved October 16, 2019, from https://www.caschooldashboard.org California State Board of Education. (2013). California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury. Lampert, M. (1990). When the problem is not the question and the solution is not the answer: Mathematical knowing and teaching. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 29–63. Launch Years: A New Vision for the Transition from High School to Postsecondary Mathematics. (2020). Retrieved May 1, 2020, from The University of Texas at Austin, Charles A. Dana Center website: https://www.utdanacenter.org/our-work/k-12-education/launch-years Martin, D.B. (2006). Mathematics learning and participation as racialized forms of experience: African American parents speak on the struggle for mathematics literacy. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 197–229. Meyer, D. (2019). Designing for Belonging in Math. CMC Northern Section Conference. Retrieved from bit.ly/meyer-design19 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Access and Equity in Mathematics Education. Retrieved from https://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Position-Statements/Access-and-Equity-in-Mathematics-Education/ Xie, Y. (2019). Interactive Map: Percentage of California students eligible for a 4-year state university. Zavala, M. (2014). Latina/o youth’s perspectives on race, language, and learning mathematics. Journal for Urban Mathematics Education, 7(1), 55-87.
Sign the Letter HereThe list of organizational and individual signatories is available as a "View Only" document. Select this link to view. Organizational Signatories (66 as of April 30, 2023)Individual Signatories (2,830 as of April 30, 2023)
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