WESTFIELD – On Monday evening, the School Committee considered a recommendation from a joint meeting of the Curriculum & Instruction and Human Resources & Policy sub-committees to change the requirements for graduation at Westfield High School from three years of math to four years.
Vice Chair Ramon Diaz, Jr. said there was a lot of discussion on this change in the sub-committee.
“I am concerned that the amount of requirements will interfere with students taking electives,” Diaz said. He said guidance counselors should be recommending four years of math to students planning to attend a four-year college, but he didn’t believe it should be mandated for all.
“When I first came on the School Committee, only two years of math were required. I thought that three years was a good compromise,” he said.
According to a presentation to the joint sub-committee prepared by Director of Curriculum & Instruction Susan Dargie, the minimum admission requirement for 4-year Massachusetts public state colleges, universities, and UMass is four courses of math, including algebra 1 & 2, and geometry or trigonometry, or comparable coursework.
“This is an important issue, obviously. Most area communities are at three, some are at four. By us leaving this at three, we’re not reducing the opportunities for students to take four, or even five or six,” said Kevin Sullivan. “I think it’s worthy to note that we’re not limiting students from taking more, but rather requiring others to take a fourth year.” Sullivan admitted that he was struggling with the issue.
According to the same presentation, while Agawam, Chicopee, East Longmeadow and West Springfield have a four-year math requirement, Minnechaug, Northampton, Southwick and Pittsfield have a three-year requirement, and Longmeadow only two.
“This isn’t about making higher educational standards, but forcing students to do something that isn’t in their plan,” Diaz said, adding that he was worried about going down the path of making more and more requirements.
When asked by Mayor Brian P. Sullivan what the detriment would be at leaving the requirement at three years, Dargie said the recommendation came from Mass Core, a state-recommended program of study that aligns high school coursework with college and workforce expectations.
She said the Mass Core recommendation came about with feedback from area colleges that Westfield students are needing to take remedial math courses before taking college level math courses.
Dargie said because math is not required in the fourth year, many students have a gap of time without math before entering college. She added that Westfield Technical Academy currently requires four years of math, and that would bring the two high schools into alignment.
When asked how many WHS students are taking a fourth year of math, Dargie said 77% of students, or 256 out of 331, had four years of math in 2015, adding that she’d feel more comfortable if that number were at 90%.
“I’d be interested to hear how many students that take four years still take remedial math after graduation,” said Superintendent-elect Stefan Czaporowski, who begins his new role on July 1. He added that Mass Core may make the recommendation to go to four years during the upcoming accreditation process.
“I think Dr. Scallion should be commended on all her great work with math. Many surrounding communities already have a fourth year. I would support that,” said Jeffrey Gosselin.
“The better prepared a student is in getting into college the better,” said William Duval. “Math is the one area, even on SAT’s, where we don’t score very well.”
A motion was made to add the fourth year of math. Mayor Sullivan, Kevin Sullivan, Cynthia Sullivan and Diaz voted against the measure, with Gosselin, Mayhew and Duval dissenting.
After the meeting, Susan Dargie said she understood the arguments against requiring four years.
“The 4-3 vote indicates to me that this is a topic we will revisit in the future. Some valid points were made. We do need to make sure guidance counselors are helping students to make the best choices for their future plans,” said Dargie. She added that the district will be focusing on math course options for all students to encourage them to take four years of math.
