FACT FOCUS: Trump’s claims about remedial math at Harvard don’t add up

By MELISSA GOLDIN As the White House moves to revoke Harvard University s certification to enroll foreign students escalating a battle between the administration and the oldest and wealthiest college in the U S President Donald Trump is falsely claiming that Harvard offers remedial mathematics on topics such as simple addition Related Articles Trump s schooling secretary threatens to pull funding from NY over its Native American mascot ban PBS suing Trump administration over defunding three days after NPR filed similar situation Fox News ICE Boston arrests convicted child rapist living next to playground Trump administration identifies Massachusetts as sanctuary state lists communities put on notice Kristi Noem announced an immigrant threatened to kill Trump The story speedily fell apart He bulk just now took aim at the school s math offerings during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on Wednesday for Interim U S Attorney for Washington D C Jeanine Pirro a Fox News host who was formerly a county prosecutor and elected judge in response to a question from a reporter about how the confrontation with Harvard will end Here s a closer look at the facts CLAIM Harvard disclosed two weeks ago that they re going to teach remedial mathematics remedial meaning they re going to teach low grade mathematics like two plus two is four How did these people get into Harvard If they can t if they can t do basic mathematics how did they do it THE FACTS Harvard does not offer a remedial math class covering basic arithmetic Required whether Trump was referring to a specific class a White House spokesperson provided information about Mathematics MA which was introduced in the fall of as a new format for an existing program that offers extra assistance in calculus The original subject Mathematics MA is still offered Harvard College does not offer any so-called remedial math classes mentioned James Chisholm a spokesperson for the university s Faculty of Arts and Sciences which encompasses its undergraduate plan He added Math MA is a college-level calculus class It is purely a new format of Math MA the introductory freshman calculus subject that has been taught at Harvard for decades Students in Mathematics MA and MA have the exact same homework exams and grading structure according to Chisholm The only difference is that the former meets three days a week and the latter five days a week They are both prerequisites for higher-level math courses One question on a sample exam Chisholm provided asks students to write a formula for determining the total number of cases during a hypothetical epidemic after a certain amount of days The Harvard Crimson shared in September that Director of Introductory Math Brendan Kelly explained Mathematics MA is aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills among students created by the COVID- pandemic A discipline description notes that its extra advocacy will target foundational skills in algebra geometry and quantitative reasoning Harvard Extension School the university s continuing tuition project aimed at working adults offers a precalculus program The greater part students need only register to attend Those who want to pursue a degree must first successfully complete two or three courses in their chosen field of analysis Those earning a certificate or taking a single subject must only meet certain enrollment requirements such as English proficiency Harvard College undergraduates who must apply to the university and be admitted under its rigorous admission standards are not allowed to cross-register for Harvard Extension School classes Harvard Extension School is distinct from Harvard College and the two have nothing to do with each other in terms of curriculum or students revealed Chisholm Harvard s Rising Scholars Activity an invite-only opportunity for incoming Harvard College students from high schools that offered them limited college-level academic enrichment opportunities offers a summer module for students who need an additional foundation on topics such as precalculus and algebra The fundamental point on Rising Scholars is it s more about the incoming trainee s high school than the individual novice s ability explained Chisholm Harvard has also offered an Emerging Scholars Operation to similarly promotion freshmen enrolled in introductory calculus who are interested in fields related to science innovation engineering and mathematics in an effort to correct systemic inequalities in math and science K- teaching that have affected our college students for plenty of years The median math figure for the most of in the last few days enrolled undergraduate class at Harvard College was out of on the SATs and out of on the ACTs The average high school GPA was There is no university in America that is as demanding to earn admission to as Harvard no matter your demographics explained Brian Taylor managing partner at the college counseling system Ivy Coach President Trump s math in this affair completely doesn t add up Find AP Fact Checks here https apnews com APFactCheck