A NYC mother fought for better schools for 13 years — then discovered her straight-A son couldn't do fractions
School has given straight-a grades to the student, who can't do masic math
Adriana Aviles, a former NYPD officer and longtime parent leader on the Citywide Council on High Schools, watched her son earn A's in math from elementary through middle school in Queens District 26. When he scored a 78 on his first high school exam, she sat down to tutor him and found he couldn't handle fractions, basic algebra, or geometry. He later scored 10 out of 100 on a test. She confronted Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels at a town hall, arguing grade inflation and the district's shift to subjective evaluation are betraying working-class families.
How can he not be proficient in math but was receiving As? Why didn't his middle school ever give him additional resources? I feel deceived.
- ZeroGravitas
So many odd aspects to this. The mom was already an activist involved in education and was going to question the state's approach to education even before she found out her kid was struggling with maths.
And she thinks she was decieved by his Elementary School even though he's bright and industrious and running his own successful business at 14?
Many things are not adding up here.
I'd assume based on being in the NYPost that it's propaganda, but it's at the very least weird propaganda.
- delichon
New Mexico has been the lowest scoring state for academic achievement for eight years running. I had no idea when I started substitute teaching last year, but learned fast. In an algebra class for tenth graders, there were two kids ready for it out of twenty. I kept backing up to reach the LCD to start teaching from, and discovered that most of the class were not competent at addition and subtraction, let alone advanced topics like division and fractions. Yet they all get passed along with their peers.
This is the cohort that was supposed to learn this material during the covid years, but got a free pass. I think most of them will probably not catch up, and their career choices will be circumscribed by it. The overwrought covid safetyism with regard to children has untold numbers of lifelong victims.
- 0xbadc0de5
Imagine a doctor refusing to acknowledge a brain tumor in a child because the diagnosis might cause them and their families distress. That doctor would be guilty of serious malpractice.
The "no child left behind" policies do this on an industrial scale. Failing to acknowledge learning deficiencies and differences in ability causes far more long term damage than being honest about it up front.
- bklosky
I was tutoring math last year to high schoolers; I had one student who was receiving B’s in math at her public high school, and she could not do -4 times 1 or correctly answer 2 divided by 2.
- IBCNU
This is very common in Chicago where I was a teaching instructor in a former life and witnessed this behavior across the board.
If (many, not all) public schools forced students to learn math where they were supposed to learn, unfortunately, the entire system would come to a stop, as almost no students can do basic math.
Might be good though to let people know where we really are as a society. Take a couple years off work back up with our rudiments.