When the prestigious California Institute of Technology announced in August it would drop calculus as an admissions requirement — students must prove mastery of the subject but don’t have to take it in high school — observers of an ongoing education equity debate might have thought it was the last holdout.

According to a recent survey the answer is more complex, that while some schools have revised their acceptance criteria based on the availability of rigorous courses, including calculus, others have not.

Queries sent to 20 top-tier colleges and universities, many of which are recognized for their strong engineering programs, found that 11 do not require it while six strongly recommend or encourage it.

Calculus may not be a must, but it is still expected at many institutions.

Princeton looks for some applicants to complete the class if they have access to it. Likewise, MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Purdue strongly recommend or encourage at least some applicants to take the course in high school.

Cornell was alone among the 20 in still mandating calculus. In fact, the Ivy League school tells incoming freshmen that at least one of their two letters of recommendation must be from a math teacher and they are “strongly encouraged” to make that person their precalculus or calculus teacher.

Caltech dropped calculus, physics and chemistry from a list of required courses while widening students’ opportunity to showcase their abilities through other means, including the completion of online courses through the free Khan Academy.

Ashley Pallie, Caltech’s executive director of undergraduate admissions, noted it was a significant shift for the STEM-intensive titan. The school had required a calculus course for decades, she said, despite pushback from applicants.

“Every year, we would get lots of students who would write in and say, ‘I was on track to take it, but the teacher isn’t able to teach us here,’ or, ‘Not enough students signed up for the class,’ or, ‘The class isn’t offered at my high school,’” she said. “And the answer was always, ‘No. We need to have the course requirement.’ ”

But that changed when Pallie and two faculty members, who set admissions criteria, learned at a February conference on equity and college acceptance the extent to which the course is not available, particularly to low-income applicants, students of color and those living in rural areas.

Pallie credited Melodie Baker, national policy director at Just Equations, an organization that promotes math policies that support equity in college readiness and success, for sharing the information at that gathering. Calculus still has merit, Caltech faculty concluded, but should no longer be mandated.

“So now it’s less about having taken the course and more about, ‘Can you showcase to us that you have proficiency and mastery?’” Pallie said.

MIT follows a similar model; it wants incoming freshmen to have two semesters of calculus but allows them to place out of the requirement either through outside credits or by taking an Advanced Standing Examination.

Calculus is not required for admission to any University of Michigan school or college, including the College of Engineering and the Ross School of Business.

And the same holds true at Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, Rice and Johns Hopkins. 

The explanation is simple, according to one school’s spokesperson. 

“We recognize not all high schools have a calculus course available to students, so it is not required for admission to Johns Hopkins University,” said Jill Rosen.

Baker, of Just Equations, said colleges and universities should always seek to widen the opportunities for bright applicants so they can one day help solve the world’s most complex and enduring problems.

“When math is used as it was intended, to cultivate and develop talent rather than rank and sort students, the future of STEM looks like a microcosm of the larger society,” she said. “It looks very different from what it looks like today: It looks well-represented.”

The University of Minnesota doesn’t demand calculus for entry to any of its undergraduate programs. However, the school does prefer that students study the topic at some stage: It’s mandatory for some majors, though it can be taken at the college level.

Still, a spokesperson for the five-college system said, “Anyone can get in without it.”

For other colleges, the answer is nuanced. Neither calculus nor precalculus is a requirement for first-year admissions at the University of California, a spokesperson said.

The vast U.C. system, which encompasses 10 campuses and some 280,000 students, does, however, note that those interested in STEM, data science and the social sciences are “strongly encouraged” to consider a math course sequence that prepares them for calculus — either during high school or in their first year at the university.

Sharon Veatch, school counseling department chair at the rural Housatonic Valley Regional High School in northwest Connecticut, follows college admissions criteria closely. Two of her former graduates are now at Harvard and a couple of others have recently graduated from Cornell.

She said universities have become less focused on calculus in recent years: Their decision to largely drop SAT and ACT admissions tests from consideration means they are looking at students more holistically, placing less emphasis on any one class.

But, Veatch said, many top-ranked universities urge students to take the most rigorous course available. For those at her high school, that means Advanced Placement calculus. The campus hasn’t offered AP Statistics for years.

“In general, when I advise students, I say, ‘You need to max out on the curriculum,’” she said. “Because that’s what I’m being told.”

Maxing out, of course, means something different from one state to another as several are reassessing their mathematics offerings.

California has tried to broaden high school students’ opportunities by providing other academic pathways, not just those that lead to calculus.

But there’s been a push and pull between equity and rigor, with the state recently backtracking on a key issue for college applicants: The faculty committee that sets admissions requirements for the U.C. system decided in July that data science could no longer be a substitute for Algebra II. The state Board of Education, which oversees K-12 and is looking at reframing math statewide, soon after removed its endorsement of data science as a substitute for that subject.

Stanford, a crown jewel in higher education in that state, recommends four years of rigorous mathematics — including algebra, geometry and trigonometry.

“We also welcome additional mathematical preparation, including calculus and statistics,” its website advises.

Calculus is not necessary for entry to the University of Wisconsin. But spokesman John Lucas said direct admittance to the engineering program is highly selective, “so, it’s rare for a student to not have taken calculus.”

Georgia Tech is a bit more explicit. Laura Simmons, an admissions counselor there, said in an online video, that students should take the most challenging courses available to them. If that means seeking out a dual enrollment math class at the local college, they should choose wisely.

“We’re never going to pretend that college algebra is the same as a calculus class,” she said.

Teacher Anthony Yom with student Cedrick Argueta at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

It was cause for celebration when 17-year-old Cedrick Argueta was one in 12 students in the entire world to ace one of the toughest college-level calculus tests.

But it wasn’t just one test. Cedrick also earned perfect scores on the English and math sections of the American College Testing entrance exam.

And it wasn’t just one student.

When the international spotlight shone on Cedrick, and his family, and his Lincoln Heights School in East Los Angeles, Cedrick kept pushing the credit back onto his teacher. “I could never have done it without him, he inspired us,” Cedrick said Tuesday when he addressed the LA Unified school board. “And, by the way, it was a team effort because the other students in my class did well too.”

In fact, for the past five years, everyone at the school who took the Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam passed it. And this past year, every student scored a 3 or higher. The scale is 1 to 5, with the highest score meaning “extremely well qualified” enough to do the work of a college level course.

So who is this teacher, Anthony Yom, and what are his secrets? Yom said he truly enjoys teaching. He doesn’t depend solely on the textbook, he doesn’t sit still in class, and he considers the students not only his colleagues, but his friends.

School board member Monica Garcia, Principal Jose Torres, Cedrick Argueta and his teacher Anthony Yom.

“I don’t really feel like I do anything different than many of the 30,000 other teachers who care about teaching in this school district,” Yom said in an interview with LA School Report. “I love spending time with the students, and I don’t consider what I do to be work. I also try to make it fun.”

Making calculus fun may seem like a tough task, but Yom said he doesn’t depend on dry lectures or boring textbooks. He seeks out additional teaching tools and examples on the Internet and develops worksheets from that. He tries to bring real-life applications to the math as much as possible. He also divides students up into groups so they can learn to help each other.

Although he’s 35 and more than double the age of his students, Yom looks a lot like one of them. Many of them, like Cedrick, are taller and their voices are deeper than the soft-spoken Korean-born teacher. Yom said he is shy and not a good public speaker. It was easy for students to bully their teacher. He said he had a bit of trouble when he first came to teach at Lincoln 11 years ago.

“There was a culture shock for sure,” Yom said about coming to the school of 1,300 where 80 percent are Latino, a majority of the students are low income and 20 percent are English-language learners. “It was a tough transition, but once they accepted me I built my reputation.”

Cedrick Argueta before speaking to the school board.

At first, the teacher was intimidated by the large number of unmotivated students coming to his class. Yom got to know some of the students, calling their homes and offering extra help as they needed it.

No, he doesn’t believe in too much homework, and he doesn’t believe in teaching to the test. Yom said he spends many hours after school and on weekends working with groups of students. He said he prepares students for every possible type of question on the tests, so they aren’t blindsided by something new.

“Another bit of advice I can give probably for teachers is that we should always think of the next level,” Yom said. “Where are they going in the next level, what are they learning in the next class? Then, you can do some backward planning, and that will help you do a good job at explaining things.”

The successes by Yom’s students helped motivate not only the school but the whole school district. School board president Steve Zimmer said, “We’re going to take this excitement and energy and it’s going to supercharge public education. We know that looking at you and telling us about your team that anything and everything is possible.”

Lincoln’s principal Jose Torres noted that Yom has set a high bar for teachers and said, “This is evidence of what can happen in every classroom if we believe every child can learn regardless of background or skill level. If you believe they can learn, they will.”

Teacher Anthony Yom and Cedrick Argueta at a press conference.

Yom credits his principal and fellow teachers with being part of the team’s success, and includes the parents who bring their children to extra lessons. He also said businesses and community leaders contributed by “letting us come in and turning on the air conditioners on scorching hot Sundays so we can study.”

Yom said, “It takes a village to raise a child. This is truly a community effort.”

Yom said he hoped Cedrick’s successful test scores also will inspire others, especially since most of his college-prep classes are dominated by Asian students. “It’s not as if the Asian students are any smarter than the Latino students,” Yom said. “They need to be encouraged to try.”

Cedrick’s parents, Lilian and Marcos, are not math whizzes like their son. She cleans houses and is from the Philippines; he is a factory worker from El Salvador. Cedrick speaks Spanish fluently.

“My parents didn’t realize how big a thing it was when we first heard about it,” said Cedrick, who now is called “the one-in-12 kid” at school because he was one of 12 in 302,532 students to get a perfect score on the Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam. Cedrick said his dream is to get a scholarship at Cal Tech and work for NASA.

Cedrick is aware of what his test scores mean. “I know that people think that Latino kids cannot do well in math and that’s not true,” he said. “Latino kids can do what other kids can do, all you have to do is support them and believe in them.”

Superintendent Michelle King said she was impressed with both the student and teacher when she visited Lincoln last week. So was President Obama, who sent a special Tweet saying, “Way to go on your perfect score” and invited Cedrick to the White House to attend the national science fair.

“I have to say he is such a humble, remarkable young man,” King said. She is amazed he is taking two more Advanced Placement classes this year, and four more next year including the next level calculus class. “And as far as the teacher, Mr. Yom has a personal connection of trust and belief of his students that allows them to succeed,” King said.

Board member George McKenna, who was a math teacher, said, “Math is the most difficult to teach, you have to wait for that ‘ah ha’ moment.” He told the teacher, “You will be inspirational and motivational for others, and I know how many interminable hours it takes to make mathematics live in the hearts and minds of students.”

Yom, overwhelmed by the attention, said for him, coming to school is like “coming to work with 150 friends.” He is amazed to see the shy freshman who came to his honors algebra class thriving in the public spotlight.

With his parents at his side, Cedrick told the school board, “I am part of LAUSD, I have been in it since pre-K and I’m just one small example of the great things you do.” He called his teacher not only a great influence on his life, “but a great friend too.”

And Yom added, “If you don’t think of this as work, you get better results. For me, it’s not work.”

Results for fourth and eighth grade reading and math were released today,

“The resilience and tenacity of our schools have seen them through some challenging years, and I’m glad to see this validation of the hard work of educators, students and their families,” Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in a statement. “These scores are another sign that we are moving in the right direction to prepare students for college and career, but we still have a lot of work to do to make sure every student graduates equipped to succeed.”

While California students continue to score a few points below other students nationwide, major gains have been made over the past decade. And while some gains were made this year in narrowing the gap between higher achieving students and African American and Hispanic students, a persistent achievement gap remained.

About 220 school districts and 740 schools in California participated in NAEP during the 2012-13 school year, state officials said. Results are reported for populations of students, not for individual students or schools. Complete state and national results are available here.

Here are the results for California:

Grade 8 reading: The state average score climbed 7 points, to 262 this year, from 255 in 2011. Scores also rose for students of color, socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils and children with disabilities. English learner scores were unchanged. There was no change in scores for higher achieving students and African American and Hispanic students. The average remains in the NAEP “basic” category.

Grade 8 math: The average score was 276, up 3 points from 2011. Scores were also up for all subgroups, including students of color, socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, children with disabilities and English learners. The gap in scores between higher achieving students and African American and Hispanic students narrowed slightly. The average remains in the NAEP “basic” category.

Grade 4 reading: The average was 213, up 2 points from 2011. California’s score was in the NAEP basic range. There were modest improvements overall, with white and Hispanic students performing above the state average. The achievement gap widened slightly between higher achieving students and African American students.

Grade 4 math: The average score was 234, remaining relatively unchanged from 2011. California’s score was in the NAEP basic achievement level. There was a narrowing in scores between higher achieving students and Hispanic students.

NAEP is an ongoing, nationally representative, established by Congress in 1969.

L.A. Mayoral Candidates Talk Education
Los Angeles’ mayoral candidates took a break Sunday from the acrimony that has marked their race in recent days.   Instead, the candidates took part in an education forum, skipping the halftime show to discuss their plans as mayor to help the city’s beleaguered schools. LA Times

A Brief Overview of Teacher Evaluation Controversies
Why is it so hard to determine what makes a good teacher? The answer is both complicated and polarizing. In recent education reform history, judging teacher evaluations has become as much an issue as how to evaluate student achievement. NPR

L.A. Archdiocese Says It Warned LAUSD Not to Hire Former Priest
L.A. Archdiocese spokesperson Tod Tamberg said the diocese has sent notices to the LAUSD regarding people accused of misconduct who either have current or former ties to the district, and have offered to share information over the phone. KCET
See also: LA Times, LA Daily News

Parent Trigger Shifts Balance
The nation’s third invoking of a Parent Trigger, in Los Angeles, disproves the charges of many critics of the 2010 California law. OC Register Op-Ed

California Drops Algebra Requirement for 8th Graders, Dismaying Educators
If an 8th grader anywhere in California walks into a classroom at 1.5 miles an hour to solve a quadratic equation, what are the chances that she will get into a top-tier university? KPCC

Tarzana-Area LAUSD Teacher Charged With Molesting Three Girls
City prosecutors charged a Tarzana-area middle school teacher Monday with more than half a dozen counts of misdemeanor child molestation in connection with alleged sexual battery of three girls, authorities said. LA Times
See also: KPCC

Jerry Brown’s Tax Allies on Proposition 30 Outspent Foes 4 to 1
Gov. Jerry Brown and his allies spent nearly $54 million passing Brown’s November ballot initiative to raise taxes, about four times the opposition, according to year-end campaign finance reports. Sac Bee

Researchers Critique Final ‘Measures of Effective Teaching’ Findings
The recommendations in the final Measures of Effective Teaching work products may not be supported by the project’s hard data, the National Education Policy Center contends in a review of the project. EdWeek

Chatsworth Hills Academy Student to Represent L.A. County at National Spelling Bee
After a 14-round contest that lasted more than five hours, an eighth-grader from Chatsworth Hills Academy took honors as Los Angeles County’s top speller and will compete this spring at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. LA Daily News

Goldberg: Education Spending That Isn’t Smart
Education is important and necessary for a host of reasons. But there’s little evidence it drives growth. LA Times Op-Ed

Granada Hills Charter and Marshall High Tied for First Place During Academic Decathlon Super Quiz
Teams from the rival schools each scored 67 out of a possible 72 points in the only public event of the decathlon. Franklin High School in Los Angeles came in third, with 65 points, followed by El Camino Real Charter in Woodland Hills with 64. LA Daily News

15 Candidates File to Run for LAUSD School Board Seats
Officials have 10 days to verify whether each has the signatures of at least 500 registered voters from the candidate’s district. LA Daily News

LAUSD Rubber Rooms Crowd Up
First revealed in 2009 by the Los Angeles Times, the rubber rooms take their nickname from much larger facilities that house New York City teachers who have been accused of wrongdoing or serious incompetence. LA Weekly

New Lawsuits Filed Against LAUSD on Behalf of Miramonte Students
On the same day that attorneys for students at Miramonte Elementary School announced that four additional lawsuits have been filed against LAUSD over alleged sexual abuse at the school, the district said it faces 189 claims resulting from the scandal. NBC LA

Mayor Villaraigosa Tours Partnership for LA Schools
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got a chance to show off several of his Partnership schools today. He toured the campuses with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and ended the visit with a commendation. KPCC

Pasadena Unified Official Put on Leave Amid Apparent Bond Probe
The Pasadena Unified School District has placed its top facilities manager on leave and has suspended or terminated five consultant contracts in the wake of an apparent inquiry into the handling of the district’s $350-million Measure TT school construction bond. LA Times

Grants Back Public-Charter Cooperation
In an effort to encourage collaboration between charter schools and traditional neighborhood schools, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $25 million in grants to seven cities. NY Times

Resistance Gathers to Parsing School Administrative Credentials
Members of a statewide organization representing school administrators are lobbying the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to drop plans for creating separate, qualified certification authorizations for school leadership positions. SI&A Cabinet Report

Many Math Students Are Flailing, Repeating Courses Without Success
et 68 percent of students who haven’t passed one of the required courses, Algebra II, by the end of 11th grade don’t even enroll in math as seniors, giving up on the possibility of applying to a UC or CSU school. EdSource

Mr. Jacob’s points (read his email below) are well taken, and we encourage any teachers to share their views with us below or email us with comments from the front lines.

1. LAUSD has gotten a lot better about placing 8th graders [who are] proficient in Algebra into Geometry in 9th grade. In other words, the population taking Algebra in 9th grade has fewer students repeating the class. Good for students, bad for the 9th grade passing statistic.

 

2. California/LAUSD doesn’t know what to do with 8th graders who aren’t ready for Algebra… for now. For multiple reasons, not every kid is prepared to take Algebra in the 8th grade.

 

[The] good news is that Common Core will realign the standards in a way that better prepares students for Algebra in [the] 8th grade, and those that are not ready will get [a] specific curriculum to get them ready for Algebra in the 9th grade.

 

While a yearly look can be informative, when the population taking the test changes, that needs to be stated. When the curriculum for 8th grade math doesn’t prepare students for Algebra, it should be stated.

 

Also why are you including a drop in 11th grade passing rates, of course the passing rate goes down. Students in 11th grade had taken Algebra 3 or 4 times before and failed, every proficient student had left the population sample. The better question is what percentage of 11th graders are still taking Algebra and is that number shrinking.

• Deasy vs. Fletcher on Air Talk: Superintendent John Deasy and UTLA President Warren Fletcher appeared on KPCC’s Air Talk with Larry Mantle yesterday, discussing, yes, teacher evaluations. KPCC

• Jerry Brown kicks off Prop 30 campaign: The measure would temporarily raise taxes on rich people to stave off budget cuts to public schools and universities. LA Times. [The campaign has already raised gobs of money – almost $20 million, as per KCET’s superb Election 2012 page.]

• There are 15,234 homeless students in LAUSD: The district is taking donations. LAUSD Tumblr

• Miramonte elementary reopens with hopes of redemption: Yet another back-to-school at Miramonte feature, this one courtesy of the LA Times.

• North Hollywood student wins gold in all-girl international math competition KPCC