Students who take Math Jam, have the opportunity to advance in math. Recently, the amount of students allowed to accelerate has gone down because of the addition of a performance task to the placement test. Only 53.2% of students who took Math Jam this year were able to accelerate, according to Assistant Principal Sean Anglon at the MUSD Board of Education Meeting on August 26, 2025.
I believe that the addition of the performance task to the math acceleration program in beneficial. Classes such as Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB or BC, which may only be taken after acceleration, are rigorous classes that require strong foundations in math. Students often have trouble succeeding in harder mathematics when they add a layer of complexity to a shaky foundation of knowledge.
AP math classes build on concepts that students learn in their classes in previous school years. For instance, AP Calculus AB adds a level of complexity to the concepts taught in Pre Calculus, such as polynomial functions or summation.
Students who take math in the school year will spend a longer time going over these topics, with teachers assuring students comprehend the lessons. Summer class students are not given the same luxury, as they have less time to absorb the same concepts. A teacher will not be able to go in depth about a subject in a few months as they could in an entire school year.
My own experiences with math demonstrates how important it is for students to have adequate knowledge about the subject. I began to accelerate in the seventh grade, and I did poorly in math because I not already mastered the basics while attempting to add complexity. This struggle would’ve been prevented had I strengthened my foundational skills earlier.
Thus, the district is doing good by making math acceleration more rigorous. It will benefit the overall classes because the classes will narrow down to the students who have the desire and drive to succeed in the class.
