Since 2020, California has led a contentious experiment in high school math.

That year, public universities in the state — including Berkeley and U.C.L.A. — loosened their admissions criteria, telling high schools that they would consider applicants who had skipped Algebra II, a cornerstone of math instruction.

In its place, students could take data science — a mix of math, statistics and computer science without widely agreed upon high school standards. Allowing data science, the universities said, was an “equity issue” that could send more students to college. But it also raised concerns that some teenagers would be channeled into less challenging coursework, limiting their opportunities once they got there.

Now, the California experiment is under review.

On Wednesday, the State Board of Education voted to remove its endorsement of data science as a substitute for Algebra II as part of new guidelines for K-12 schools.

“We have to be careful and deliberate about ensuring rigor,” Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the state board, said before the vote.

The board took its cue from the state university system, which also appeared to back away this week from data science as a substitute for Algebra II.

A U.C. faculty committee — which controls admission requirements for the state’s entire public university system — announced on Wednesday that it will re-examine what high school courses, including data science, meet the standards for “advanced math.”

The turnabout in California reflects the national quandary over how to balance educational standards with racial and economic equity. Could data science draw students into higher-level math? Or will offering data science as an alternative to algebra divert students from obtaining the quantitative skills required for a range of careers? Should there be a workaround if higher math is blocking some students from attending college?

In California, hundreds of high schools across the state now offer data science co