The new middle school math placement guidelines will take a back seat at today's meeting of the Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force.

Only five minutes on today's agenda is scheduled for an update on the math placement stats presented at the last ED meeting. School board member John Tedesco, chairman of the task force, said administrators are still resolving whether the numbers accurately reflect minority enrollment this year in pre-algebra and Algebra I.

Far more time, 45 minutes, is set aside for discussion of a draft policy on equity and equality.

There are a number of peopel who don't think the Wake County school board's efforts to get more students into Algebra I in middle school is a good idea.

During last week's board meeting, N.C. State Professor Jim Martin said he fully supports that "nothing but competency" be used in assigning students to Algebra I. He said it's "unacceptable" to make placement decisions in Algebra I based on race or economic status.

"However I must counter the myth that is being perpetuated," Martin quickly added. "You don't need algebra in middle school to be competitive in application to college."

The Washington Post could soon join the list of national media organizations writing about the Wake County school diversity fight.

A Washington Post reporter was in attendance at Thursday's economically disadvantaged student performance task force meeting.

School board member John Tedesco said he had a lengthy discussion with the reporter on everything from student assignment to his involvement with the Tea Party and the allegations that Art Pope has been directing the board's actions.

Don't look for the Wake County school board's economically disadvantaged student performance task force to be focusing on student assignment.

During Thursday's meeting, task force members and people from the audience were able to vote on up to three topics for the group to focus on. You could put all three of your dots on one issue or spread them out.

Among the leaders after the light voting was student assignment.

CORRECTED TO SAY ASSIGNMENT IN FIRST PARAGRAPH

Minority participation is up in pre-algebra and Algebra I this school year in Wake County middle schools but a lot of the talk today was that it's still not enough.

School officials said 61.6 percent of black middle school students who were identified as being ready to take pre-algebra or Algebra I were placed in those courses this year. The rate was 61.6 percent for Hispanic students and 58.6 percent for economically disadvantaged students using the new EVAAS selection criteria.

Previously, the SAS report indicated a majority of qualified black and Hispanic students weren’t being placed into Algebra I in middle school.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Today's meeting of the Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force could reveal whether minority students are still getting disproportionately kept out of Algebra I.

School leaders were touting last month how there's been a 30 percent increase this year in pre-algebra and Algebra I enrollment in middle schools. But the data also indicated that 3,324 students weren't placed in those classes this year even though EVAAS indicated they were ready.

During today's ED task force meeting, staff is scheduled to present demographic data on those 3,324 students who weren't placed.

UPDATE

Click here to view meeting agenda.

The one figure that people kept repeating out of Thursday's Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force meeting was 35 percent.

As noted in today's article, 35 percent is this year's gain in Algebra I enrollment under the new EVAAS placement guidelines compared to last year's total. There was a 26 percent increase in pre-Algebra enrollment. Overall, the gain for both courses was 30 percent.

"I know this is new for a lot of principals, but I want to really thank all of you for taking on the challenges," said school board member John Tedesco, chairman of the task force at Thursday's meeting. "Because of that we saw measurable gains. You can’t dispute that. A 35 percent increase is impressive."

UPDATE

SEE END OF POST FOR THURSDAY'S POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON MATH PLACEMENT UPDATE

The impact of the new middle school math placement criteria will take center stage at today's Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force meeting.

The task force will hear a report on how many middle school students are in advanced math classes this school year based on last week's 20th-day enrollment. The new guidelines, which use EVAAS, are expected to result in an increase in enrollment, especially among black and Hispanic students.

School board member John Tedesco, chairman of the task force, had asked for the totals to see how much the new guidelines are being used. The data is expected to show how many students identified as being ready by EVAAS are in those advanced classes and how many are not.

UPDATE

Click here for today's meeting agenda.

Dan Coleman, president of the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, is speaking out against the old Wake County socioeconomic diversity policy.

As noted in today's article, Coleman's public criticism of the diversity policy is putting him at odds with the rest of the leadership of the local African American community. But Coleman said the test data shows that the diversity policy hasn't helped Southeast Raleigh students.

The passing rate on state reading exams for Southeast Raleigh students was 46.7 percent in elementary schools and 48.6 percent in middle schools. None of the other zones in the plan being considered by the board had passing rates below 60 percent.

The focus now switches from gathering information to discussing action steps for the Wake County school board's economically disadvantaged student performance task force.

The first three meetings of the task force have largely consisted of hearing presentations about different things going on in the district. But for today's agenda, the task force will focus on discussing what the "desired state" should be for serving Wake's economically disadvantaged students.