Lawsuit claims PAUSD’s math placement tests are biased against girls

This story originally appeared in the free print edition of the Daily Post on Oct. 14. If you don’t want to miss important local stories, pick up the Daily Post in the mornings at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.

Word Count: 696

BY ELAINE GOODMAN
Daily Post Correspondent

Parents are alleging in a lawsuit that Palo Alto Unified School District’s middle-school math placement tests are keeping girls out of advanced-level math classes.

“The results of these tests have historically favored boys over girls,” said the lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

And while the middle school student body is roughly half boys and half girls, “over the past two years, the number of boys …

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One clarification to the story: Edith Cohen, a plaintiff in lawsuit against PAUSD, she said she has two children who graduated from the district and two daughters who are in still in high school in the district.

11 Comments

  1. This is a non-issue. If you don’t do well on the test, you can prove yourself and move into advanced math by doing well in your regular math class and then taking a “bridge” class over the summer.

    How about challenging the real problems kids face today from governments (often by unelected bureaucrats) – mandatory masking all day and during activities (insanity), social isolation and quarantines, and forced jabs that could cause infertility, blood clots and other serious side effects.

    • The problem is they tell you whether you pass or not without a chance to review the test or the result. Why even test if you make it so close door, unaccountable and objective. Many girls felt they did well in the test but got denied a fair review.

    • The “advanced” you are referring here is not advanced from the regular math standard. It’s just basic normal math, non-advanced in PAUSD is below basic math.
      Basic normal Math is not hard. It’s only politicians make it hard. The kids should still study and face all these real problems you are referring. Not sure why you think they don’t.
      By the way, the worst is that we dumb down the entire populations and they all become those dumb policians who think math is so hard and they have to prevent all kids from learning it.

    • I am in PAUSD and they do not allow you to move ahead after taking a math class/studying ahead outside of school. Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 have to be taken in school because they are mandatory for graduation. Analysis also has to be taken on campus because it’s a prerequisite for Calculus.

    • Then you should also agree that current California government is doing the same to prove discriminations. PAUSD is already a front-runner to block kids from advancing their math.

    • I agree but the part of the lawsuit I agree with is allowing students to skip classes after studying outside of school. Some students are ambitious and put in a lot of time outside of school, only to be forced into a class in which the content has already been mastered.

  2. They refused to let you review the test and the result even when parents requested, making the decision very objective and unaccountable. Many girls who felt they did well were denied the chance and felt bored in the classes.
    I agree with Ms Cohen.

  3. I agree with Ms Cohen.
    The school denied request to review the test and the result, making the decision very unaccountable and onjective. The result, many girls who felt they did well ended up in classes they felt very bored.

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