You wouldn't believe the posturing that I encountered. It really took people by surprise when I didn't come at the issue from the perspective of tracking. Most people did agree that slicing the student population into horizontal bands is not particularly helpful if your goal is to move towards those standards. But as you know, mathematics is the most tracked of all subjects, and most mathematics teachers believe strongly that tracking leads to the most effective education for all students. The issues in mathematics are particularly problematic.
Teachers seem to allow very little variation in the way mathematics is taught and presented.
If you made real changes in the way mathematics is taught, you'd find interesting surprises, both about people's capacity to learn but also about mathematics itself. We've barely begun to examine the deep implications of how we must rethink the discipline and the way that it is taught in order to be inclusive. The linear topical approach may not support the way most people really operate. This idea of turning content on its head to fit the subject to the audience is the real uncharted territory of mathematics education. Shirley Malcom is director of education and human resources programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.