Math placement inequities persist in California

Despite the passage of California’s Math Placement Act in 2015, which aimed to address inequities in ninth-grade math placement, many students—particularly students of color and low-income students—are still disproportionately held back. The law mandates the use of multiple objective measures, discouraging subjective teacher recommendations, yet a recent Rand Corp. report reveals that 95% of California high schools continue to use teacher input, with 31% relying solely on recommendations, a violation of the law. While other states like Washington, North Carolina, and Texas have implemented successful automatic enrollment policies to improve access to advanced math, California lags behind in ensuring equitable math opportunities, calling for urgent reforms to monitor and improve math placement practices statewide.