[March 30, 2026] It’s happening all across the nation. The latest casualty is the San Francisco school system just admitted their big equity experiment failed. For those reading this website, this should come as no surprise.
On March 25, 2026, the school board voted 4-3 to bring back eighth-grade algebra. They had removed it in 2014 to make things “fair.” The idea was to hold back advanced classes so minority students could catch up on basics. Instead, math scores dropped for everyone.
The old policy took away algebra from middle school. Leaders thought giving more time for easy math would help black and Hispanic kids. They called it equity. But Stanford economist Thomas Dee said it lowered the ceiling instead of raising the floor. They made school easier for some and hurt everyone else.
Results were bad. Eighth-grade math proficiency fell from 51 percent in 2016-17 to 40 percent in 2022-23. For black students, it dropped from 11 percent to just 4 percent. Gaps between groups stayed wide or got worse. Many parents paid for tutors or summer classes out of their own pockets. Families started leaving the district.
This shows what conservatives have warned about for years. You cannot fix education by lowering standards. Real equity comes from strong teaching, hard work, and high expectations for all kids. Pretending everyone learns at the same speed ignores basic truth. Some students are ready for algebra in eighth grade. Holding them back is unfair and hurts the whole country.
San Francisco voters pushed back. In 2024, a ballot measure called for restoring advanced math. It passed big. School board president Phil Kim said families want rigorous classes. He called it a way to keep kids in public schools. The vote proves parents are tired of woke experiments that hurt learning.
Other districts tried the same thing. Palo Alto cut honors biology. A Detroit-area district dropped middle school honors math. Cambridge, Massachusetts, removed Algebra 1 then brought it back in 2023. These moves always fail. Test scores fall. Bright students get bored or leave. The push for “equity” over excellence hurts poor and minority kids most.
America needs strong math skills. Good jobs in tech, engineering, and science start with algebra. Our country faces tough competition from China and other nations. Weak math education puts our future at risk. Conservative values say we should challenge every child to reach their full potential. Personal responsibility and merit matter more than forced equal outcomes.
Teachers and principals know what works. Clear lessons, practice, and high standards build real knowledge. Parents want schools that teach, not social experiments. San Francisco’s reversal is a small win for common sense. But one vote does not fix years of damage.
The lesson is clear. Equity policies that dumb down classes do not help anyone. They create frustration and failure. True help comes from fixing early grades, supporting teachers, and expecting hard work. Conservatives believe in opportunity for all through excellence, not excuses.
San Francisco should now focus on better basic math in earlier grades. Make sure every student gets solid foundations. Offer algebra to those ready without apology. Track progress with real tests, not feelings.
This story matters for every American parent. Public schools belong to families, not activists. We must demand rigor over ideology. Our kids deserve the best education possible. Lowering the bar was a mistake. Raising expectations is the right path forward.
————
Please read my books:
I don’t this is true. Equity is more important than advancing in knowledge. If that means eliminating difficult courses in school, then so be it. If reading comprehension goes down, so be it. The end matters, and that means everyone must be equal.
Wow, Sally, you are way off base here. Forcing equality, and that ultimately is what you mean, ultimately means the police will have to enforce it. People who work for a living aren’t so willing to give up their hard work for someone who is stupid, lazy, and crazy.
Equity in math class: because nothing says “equal opportunity” like making sure everyone gets equally confused. Turns out, lowering the bar doesn’t help kids jump higher — it just gives them a shorter hurdle to trip over.
The article raises important questions about how equity policies affect student learning in math. Lowering standards, like removing eighth-grade algebra, may aim to help some students but can end up hurting academic progress for many. It shows the challenge of balancing fairness with maintaining high expectations in public schools.
Clear data on outcomes could help communities decide what approaches truly benefit all kids in the long run. Gen. Satterfield has some great ideas on how to make yourself better. See his book at: https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
This article by Gen. Satterfield hits the nail on the head about what really works in our schools. Equity experiments sound nice but they always drag everyone down instead of lifting kids up. San Francisco tried removing eighth-grade algebra to make things “fair,” and math scores tanked for black students and everybody else. Real fairness means high standards and hard work, not watering down classes so nobody feels left behind. Parents know their kids need tough math to get good jobs later, and they are tired of watching public schools chase woke ideas. When schools lower the bar, bright kids get bored and leave while struggling kids still fall further behind. We need to teach solid basics early, support good teachers, and let ready students take advanced classes without apology. Thank you for calling out these failed policies with clear facts. America’s kids deserve excellence, not excuses dressed up as equity.
Well said, sir. Gen. Satterfield has been on this idea of failing schools for a long time now.
“Our Education System is Failing Us”
https://www.theleadermaker.com/our-education-system-is-failing-us/
Our failure as responsible members of our communities to address the decline of education will result in the decline of the United States and our culture. The growing shortfall in practical skills in engineering, mathematics, medical technology, and management grows daily. A recent OECD 2018 program found that the U.S. was outperformed 36 countries, including Italy, France, Poland and Russia.
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Moses Maimonides, medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher
Yep, this is what I like to see. EQUITY FAILS, who would have known? /Sarcasm
Sir, yes, no surprise that the Marxist ideology of forced equity has failed. It does so because it fails to take into account the needs and wants of ordinary humans.