Parents press board to restore accelerated middle‑school math; board members call for more disaggregated data

Parents and several board members clashed Tuesday over recent changes to the district's middle‑school math pathways and whether the district has supplied sufficient data to justify those changes.

At public comment, Balaji Neshwaran, identifying himself as a Montgomery resident and parent, urged the board to reinstate a “double‑accelerated” math program that allowed some students to begin algebra earlier and progress more quickly through high‑school math. "By removing the double accelerated program, you didn't take away a class. You took away opportunity," Neshwaran said.

The board heard a defense of the district's process from Fiona Borland, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development, who said curriculum change recommendations presented previously were based on supervisors', teachers' and administrators' review of alignment to New Jersey standards and student achievement data. Borland said district staff had repeatedly shared that work at committee meetings and that teachers and supervisors collaborate to meet diverse student needs.

The public exchange prompted extended discussion among trustees about transparency and the types of assessment data the board should request. One trustee urged the board to require disaggregated student growth reporting — for example, by local percentile bands across grades 3–11 in English language arts, mathematics and science — so the district and community can assess whether curriculum changes are improving outcomes for students across the distribution, not only top performers.

District officials and multiple trustees said some of that data had been discussed previously at the curriculum committee but that the committee process is the usual venue for curricular review. Other trustees and parents said the committee presentations were not meeting the community's need for clear, shareable summary data.

Board members discussed whether requests for this level of disaggregation must be routed through the board's Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction (ACI) committee, with some members advising formal referral to that committee so staff can prepare the requested analyses. Trustees also debated the adequacy of prior presentations comparing Montgomery to neighboring districts and suggested staff produce a concise comparison of course‑pathway timing (which math course is taken in which grade) in peer districts such as West Windsor and Hopewell.

The exchange underscored a broader demand from parents and some trustees for a district practice of publishing periodic, transparent summaries of student growth and retention so the board and community can evaluate program effects and staffing implications.

Why this matters: Course pathway decisions affect the sequence of high‑school mathematics available to students and can influence college preparation and course access. Trustees framed the issue as both one of curricular appropriateness and public accountability.

The board did not take a formal vote on the math pathways during the meeting. Trustees directed that data requests and any further curricular action be handled through the ACI committee and signaled intent to return to the topic in future meetings.