" In other words, the people who constructed these problems were trying to send these high school students the message that they could not do math---even if they could. At least, this is my interpretation."
You are not alone in recognizing this and it is frequently mentioned among homeschooling parents as part of what prompted their decision to home educate! I was asked a couple of years ago to teach geometry in a co-op but they had the books "donated" and I refused to use the text because it was anti-educational. And this is only one aspect of what has changed. Bev Eakman wrote on this at length. I recommend her book Educating for the New World Order (get it used as it's probably out of print.) If you know anyone currently struggling with math there is a good program, Saxon Math, long favored in home educating and it can be purchased used on ebay.
"You are not alone in recognizing this and it is frequently mentioned among homeschooling parents as part of what prompted their decision to home educate! I was asked a couple of years ago to teach geometry in a co-op but they had the books "donated" and I refused to use the text because it was anti-educational. And this is only one aspect of what has changed. Bev Eakman wrote on this at length. I recommend her book Educating for the New World Order (get it used as it's probably out of print.) If you know anyone currently struggling with math there is a good program, Saxon Math, long favored in home educating and it can be purchased used on ebay."
Thanks for your response. It is indeed good to know that I'm not alone in thinking this---particularly because the entire experience of discovering it was so weird! I can only imagine how strange it must be for young students new to the subject. I have stored away your info for future reference.