All students have access to a challenging curriculum and are placed in classes with students of mixed abilities. Grouping or tracking often results in some groups of students achieving at a high level while other groups slow down, get discouraged, and drop out of math. Parents should insist their children have the same opportunity for learning mathematics as all other students. Families and counselors can push students to take advanced math courses and be sure students know the requirements for college so they can take the courses to meet them. Algebra is an important course for making college or technical school an option.
Students learn that math is valued and used in everyday life.
Math skills are valuable tools like reading and writing. Children can learn how math is used in cooking, riding the subway or bus, shopping, or planning a trip. Math is used when you go out to eat, get change at the video store, or plan for saving and spending. Math is used in the results of polls to inform or persuade. When school math and family experiences are linked, students are more interested and are willing to work hard on complex problems.