Counted Out

Dedicated to SNCC veteran and Algebra Project founder Bob Moses, this documentary shatters misconceptions about the role math plays in our lives, who can learn it, and how it should be taught.

Working in groups, middle school students in early March of 2020 use their knowledge of exponential figures to calculate how fast COVID could spread. These young people were more accurate than the news the public received that spring from most media and politicians. This is just one of dozens of memorable scenes from Counted Out.

Another is an interview with Glenn Rodriguez, who was denied parole after 26 years due to a biased risk assessment algorithm, run by a for-profit company that kept the formula a trade secret. (Watch the film to find out what happens next.)

Director Vicki Abeles highlights why math literacy is crucial for a functioning democracy, how far we are from that goal, and she shows us classrooms where all students enthusiastically engage with meaningful math. The emphasis is on creative problem solving skills, not just spitting out the right answer.

Abeles makes the case that we need the power of math, with everyone at the table, to effectively address climate change, public health, civil rights, economic justice, participatory democracy, and more.

Watch the trailer below.