The seventh graders in Maddie Hines’ project-based math class in North Portland are learning all about how to run sophisticated experiments where they come up with a hypothesis, test it out using the mathematics they’ve learned in class and come to a conclusion.
Little do the students at Cesar Chavez K-8 know that they themselves are data points in a districtwide experiment aimed at increasing and diversifying the number of students who are both eligible and prepared to take advanced math classes in high school and beyond.
Early results suggest that Portland Public Schools’ hypothesis — that offering students the chance to double-dose on math in seventh grade would open up eighth grade algebra to more students of color and from lower-income families — is proving correct. The district first began offering that option in fall of 2024…