Policy Report: “Critical Math” Doesn’t Add Up: Race Consciousness and Radical Egalitarianism in the Curriculum

California is in the process of revising its Mathematics Framework, a nearly thousand-page document which provides guidance on how to teach K-12 math in public schools. The public commenting period ends May 16 and Ze’ev Wurman has commented quite a lot, including co-writing an open letter to California state leadership condemning the framework. The letter was signed by over 1,200 professionals—mostly university-level professors in STEM subjects, science, tech, engineering, and math. Since the letter, some elements of the framework have been revised, but Wurman, research fellow at Independent Institute, says the core of his criticism still stands.

Ze’ev Wurman is a former senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Education, he’s also helped draft such frameworks in the past, and he’s very worried that the proposed guidelines focus too much on politics and not enough on algebra. He co-wrote an open letter to the state saying, “California is on the verge of politicizing K-12 math in a potentially disastrous way.”