Latest news with #AlgebraI.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Opinion: In Algebra 1, New Understanding of an Old Problem Can Support Students
Schools are often described as engines of opportunity — places where students gain the skills and knowledge needed to build their futures. But for too many young people, that engine stalls before it even starts. One critical inflection point is the completion of Algebra I. It can determine whether students move forward or fall behind, shaping not just their academic trajectory but also their future economic mobility. For students who pass Algebra I — typically in 9th grade — a door opens to higher-level math, college readiness, and stronger career prospects. For those who don't, that door can remain closed. In fact, students who fail Algebra I are four times more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who pass. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter According to the 2024 NAEP scores, only 28% of students were proficient in 8th grade math. That sobering number underscores the challenge: Students are entering Algebra I already behind, grappling with unfinished learning from prior grades. Without effective intervention, the gap only grows wider. To better understand how to support students in mastering Algebra I, TNTP and New Classrooms analyzed three years of data from more than 2,000 students who used Teach to One Roadmaps, an online learning platform developed by New Classrooms, alongside their regular Algebra I classroom. The findings, detailed in the report, Unlocking Algebra: What the Data Tells Us About Helping Students Catch Up, offer important insights into how students build algebraic understanding over time and which strategies are most effective in helping them succeed. The study found that students make the most progress when rebuilding foundational knowledge is paired with opportunities to learn new content. That requires focusing on high-leverage, pre-requisite skills rather than trying to fill every gap. Intervention supports like tutoring must be tightly aligned to what students already know and what they are ready to learn next. And instructional coherence is essential. Students need consistent, connected learning experiences — from core instruction to other interventions — to truly accelerate. Related The majority of students in the study began knowing only about one-third of the algebra-related concepts and skills from prior grades. But the data also showed that students can catch up — especially when instruction helps them both rebuild key foundations and continue learning new, grade-level material. They don't need to stop moving forward while trying to recover everything they've missed. The research found that instruction was significantly more effective when it targeted the key predecessor skills that unlock access to new Algebra I content, rather than attempting to remediate everything. For example, when students are trying to learn 'the average rate of change,' the key predecessor skills with the greatest likelihood of ensuring success are the ability to calculate the slope between two points, to construct functions to model a linear relationship, and to determine function rules from tables. When key skills like these are not already mastered, students were found to succeed in only one out of 10 attempts. But when they are explicitly addressed, students' success rate jumped to 58%. The takeaway: Students don't need to catch up on all unfinished learning to move forward. Precision matters more than breadth. Instead of broad, generalized approaches, educators can accelerate learning by focusing on the skills that matter most for unlocking new content and that build on each student's existing knowledge. Over the course of a school year, aligning interventions with core instruction also made a measurable difference. This targeted strategy helped students learn nearly twice as many new algebra concepts by year end. That progress mattered: Students who had mastered twice as many concepts were significantly more likely to score proficient on their state's Algebra I assessment. These insights point to a larger truth: System-level instructional coherence is essential. Students thrive when their learning experiences—from core instruction to tutoring to other supports—are aligned, purposeful, and grounded in a shared understanding of what success looks like. In Algebra I, for example, instructional coherence ensures that the foundational skills students practice in tutoring or support programs directly connect to what's being taught in class, so every learning opportunity builds toward mastering key algebra concepts rather than feeling disconnected or repetitive. If schools are to serve as true engines of opportunity, all parts of the system—curriculum, instruction, and intervention—must work together. That's especially true when it comes to Algebra I, the gateway course that often determines who accelerates and who stalls out. Coherence isn't just about what happens in the math classroom; it requires alignment across grade levels, teacher teams, and entire systems. Related When selecting intervention solutions, district leaders should ask key questions: How does the platform determine what each student is ready to learn? Does it tailor practice to individual needs? The most effective tools meet students where they are and guide them towards mastery, with a clear focus on skills that unlock Algebra I. At the state level, much of the recent focus has rightly been on ensuring rigorous classroom curricula. But few states offer clear guidance on what high-quality intervention should look like. This is a missed opportunity. State leaders can leverage existing curriculum review processes to advocate for coherent intervention tools: ones that are aligned to classroom instruction, address unfinished learning, and build towards grade-level content. Algebra I is more than just a math class. It's a defining moment in a student's academic life and a powerful measure of whether the school system is delivering on its promise of opportunity. Right now, too many students are stalling before they ever get a chance to accelerate. But we now have a clearer roadmap for helping them catch up—and keep up. The tools are here. The knowledge is here. The opportunity is waiting. Let's make sure the engine starts.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Untangling Who Should Take Algebra — And When
When it comes to access, readiness and placement in Algebra I, states and districts across the country have ping-ponged between extremes for decades, often without clear evidence to back up drastic and frequent policy shifts. A new report attempts to untangle the policy pendulum swings and provide states and districts with concrete evidence for what's most effective. But to really understand what's at stake, consider a history lesson – more a cautionary tale, really – set in San Francisco schools. Nationally, only 16% of eighth-grade students took Algebra I in the mid-80s — and as one might imagine, the well-resourced schools that offered the advanced math subject in middle school overwhelmingly catered to wealthy white students. The 90s was marked by efforts to address those inequities and increase access to Algebra I, which was seen as a gateway to academic success and college access but one that often locked out marginalized students. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Swept up in California's 'Algebra for All' push in the late 1990s, San Francisco schools shifted away from placing high-achieving students on advanced math tracts and attempted to enroll all eighth-graders in Algebra I. But the results were lackluster at best. By significantly increasing enrollment, including students who were not academically prepared for the subject, achievement plummeted. Some research even suggests a harmful backsliding for the lowest-performers, who often had to repeat the course. So, San Francisco course-corrected once again. In 2015, they rolled out new and rigorous math standards, but took away the ability for students to take Algebra I in eighth-grade, making it a ninth-grade subject. Then, after a wave of criticism from parents fearing their kids weren't being challenged or properly prepared for more advanced mathematics, they reintroduced Algebra I to eighth-graders this year, piloting three different ways of offering the subject in middle school to pinpoint the most effective way to do so. San Francisco isn't alone in its Algebra I pendulum swings — not by a long shot. Today, the subject has become a bellwether for equity and college access, and unexpectedly, one of the most hotly debated topics in American education. With district and school leaders clamoring for more meaningful guidance about who should take the class, when, and with what types of support, a new report from EdResearch for Action and the Annenberg Institute at Brown University tackles those issues head-on. 'Over the past few decades, the research that has come out of those policy swings — from everyone should take it in eighth grade to no, we should make everyone take it in ninth grade — has kind of shown that that one-size-fits-all uniform push to algebra one is not meeting the needs of all students,' says Elizabeth Huffaker, a fellow at Stanford University's Center for Education Policy Analysis and author of the report. 'A lot of states and districts are experimenting with new models, and we wanted to bring to bear what we do know as states and districts try to do that.' Here's what the report found and what state, district and school leaders should examine as they think about the most effective ways to set students up for success with Algebra I and beyond. In deciding who should take algebra, districts should attempt to strike a balance between expanding early access to the subject in 8th grade and ensuring students are academically ready. The goal should be to broaden participation while preventing course failure, disengagement, and long-term setbacks. Research shows that long-term academic success is higher when students are enrolled in Algebra I based on academic readiness rather than grade level. But whether schools should embrace acceleration among students with uncertain readiness depends on the level of academic support a district can provide as well as the proportion of students considered borderline ready. Enrolling too many students who aren't fully ready can be disruptive and ineffective, whereas a small number who are also bolstered by tutoring programs, for example, would likely be successful. Related Students who are not academically ready need significant support to be successful. When it comes to making placement decisions, research shows the best way to do so is with a combination of test scores, rather than relying solely on subjective referrals or a single test score. This has been shown to improve participation and achievement, especially for historically underserved students. For example, when schools in Wake County, North Carolina, replaced subjective placement factors with a cutoff score based on multiple academic measures, it led to increased enrollment, especially among Black, Hispanic, and low-income students. 'Tracking,' the practice of assigning students to courses based on their proficiency level, is controversial since it assumes students have fixed academic abilities. That's a narrative that's particularly harmful for low-income students and students of color who come into K-12 with far less access to advanced coursework. Yet the practice is widespread, especially in older grades and for placement in advanced classes: Nationally, about 25% of 4th graders and 75% of 8th graders attend schools that use tracking. Supporters argue that it improves learning by targeting instruction to students' individual needs, and research seems to bear that out, with classrooms grouped by proficiency levels allowing more targeted instruction. However, research also shows that tracking tends to benefit higher achievers while also widening achievement gaps and increasing segregation. Moreover, students in lower tracks are typically aware of their placement, which can hurt confidence, motivation and effort. Meanwhile, mixed-proficiency classrooms offer all students access to rigorous coursework, but risk discouraging lower achievers by introducing material that's too advanced while also slowing progress for high achievers because the material isn't advanced enough. And while differentiated instruction can benefit all students, effectively supporting a wide range of academic abilities requires teachers to have advanced skills. The best approach is to provide extra support to students who aren't quite ready for algebra through tutoring, offering two periods of math each day (also known as 'double-dose') or providing summer programs, research shows. Tutoring, especially when delivered in small groups, multiple times per week, and during the school day, is one of the most effective short-term and long-term academic interventions. A meta-analysis of 21 randomly controlled trials found that math tutoring generates about a 10 percentile learning gain, on average, which is a large effect for an educational intervention. 'Double-dose' algebra gives students two math periods a day and has been shown to improve outcomes. When Chicago Public Schools required underprepared 9th-grade students to take two periods of algebra instead of one, student test scores increased. It also led to longer-run gains in college entrance exam scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment rates. Research also shows that summer bridge programs help students build the study skills and confidence needed for success in algebra. One 19-day Algebra I bridge program in California raised the share of algebra-ready students from 12% to 29%. Increasing enrollment in Algebra I in middle school involves nuanced decision-making that includes evaluating the readiness of students and educators and the capacity of the district to provide support. What districts should avoid, the research shows, are policy shifts that either delay Algebra I for all students or accelerate them without strong, integrated support, and enrollment policies that rely on one static test score or subjective teacher recommendations. 'There should be an emphasis on raising the floor, not lowering the ceiling when we're thinking about balancing access and achievement,' Huffaker says. Related Most recently, districts have been turning to auto-enrollment policies, which allow students to opt out and support those who may not be academically ready with either tutoring or a second math class. Research shows that it increases participation and completion rates, particularly among underrepresented students. Bottom line, Huffaker says, is that there are always going to be trade-offs when it comes to how and when to introduce Algebra I. 'We always say that supported acceleration is a great way to get all or most of your students on an advanced pathway. And it sounds really great to have everyone kind of on that early Algebra I one trajectory. But districts face significant resource constraints and staffing. So I think our real goal here was to provide a framework where districts could come in with their local priorities and resources mapped and see what's realistic for them.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
One state tried algebra for all eighth graders. It hasn't gone well
BRAHAM, Minn. — It was fourth-period Basic Algebra 8 class on a gray October morning at Braham Area High School. Teacher Rick Riccio had assigned an exercise on converting large integers to scientific notation, but fifteen minutes in, some students had lost focus. Two girls at a back table sang, their worksheets empty. Two boys pulled up games on their laptops, as two other girls discussed what they'd name their children someday. Riccio tried to reel them in as he walked around answering questions. "You're a little too crazy today," he said to the girls in the back. "You gotta settle down and get this done." Not all eighth graders are ready for the abstract concepts—like variables, linear functions, slope—that come with Algebra I, some experts and teachers say. Those more complex ideas also require extended concentration, which is difficult for many middle schoolers. "Eighth grade, they're just in full-on puberty, hormones," said Zach Loy, another math teacher at the high school, an hour's drive from Minneapolis. "Are they capable of sitting down and focusing on one thing for two, three minutes at a time without getting distracted? I see that as being the hardest barrier." But under a 2006 Minnesota law designed to boost the number of students going into math and science careers, all eighth graders were required to take Algebra I. At the time, legislators argued that getting more kids through algebra before starting high school would ensure they were on a path to graduate, having taken calculus, often seen as a gateway for entry to selective colleges and to well-paying jobs in fields like engineering and medicine. There was a logic behind that: In a traditional course sequence, finishing calculus is easier if students take Algebra I by eighth grade since they can continue on to geometry, Algebra II, precalculus or trigonometry, and then calculus their senior year. But a Hechinger Report analysis of federal data shows Minnesota's law hasn't worked out as planned. Between 2009 and 2017, the share of the state's students taking calculus did rise modestly, from 1.25% to 1.76%. But other states saw far larger gains, and Minnesota dropped from sixth to 10th place among states for calculus enrollment as a share of total enrollment. (2017 is the latest year for which there are compiled federal data on calculus enrollment, according to U.S. Department of Education spokesperson Alberto Betancourt.) On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a national test done every two years, Minnesota fell from second place among the 50 states in 2009 on eighth-grade math scores to eighth place in 2022, the latest year of available data. Braham and other districts report that there's been no change in the number of their students taking calculus, in part because many students just aren't interested in STEM-heavy careers, administrators say. In addition, state education leaders responded to the 2006 mandate by introducing a policy in 2007 that enabled students to take Algebra I over two years instead of one, neutralizing the effect of starting the course earlier. In many school districts around the country, algebra has become a hot-button issue, with some parents pushing their kids to take it in eighth grade—and school districts to offer it then—because of the opportunities it may unlock in high school and beyond. But the share of students in eighth-grade algebra who are Black or Hispanic has remained low. A few districts have tried eliminating the eighth-grade algebra option altogether as a way to increase equity and get rid of separate advanced and standard math tracks, stirring parent opposition. Minnesota went the opposite route, effectively giving students the same opportunities by placing everyone on an accelerated track. Its experience suggests early universal algebra isn't a cure-all for boosting the share of students in advanced math. "That replicates what most of the studies have found," said Scott Peters, senior research scientist at educational assessment organization NWEA. Early algebra does appear to slightly boost enrollment in advanced math courses in the short term—for example, more 10th graders taking Algebra II—but the effect fades as students get older, he said. And there could be a downside. A 2015 study found that a brief experiment by California to enroll all eighth graders in algebra backfired, lowering test scores in large districts, though it had little effect on small and mid-sized ones. "If you push a kid too far, too fast, they might be either less interested or feel defeated, or it hurts their self-efficacy and confidence in math," study co-author Andrew McEachin said. The roots of universal eighth-grade algebra go back to the late 1990s, when policymakers began promoting it to get more students through calculus in high school. That, in turn, would boost their college and career chances—especially for Black and Latino students and those from low-income households—and help U.S. competitiveness, went the thinking. Between 2000 and 2005, the share of U.S. eighth graders enrolled in algebra shot up from 27% to 42%, according to the Brookings Institution. (By 2020-21 it was less than 24%, according to the Department of Education.) Minnesota legislators took notice. In 2006, a state education bill required for the first time that the state's eighth graders take Algebra I, starting in the 2010-11 school year. "I remember people saying they wanted to make sure students could complete algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus in high school," said former state Sen. Steve Kelley, the bill's co-author. "To do that, we needed to have them take Algebra I in eighth grade." Many math experts warned against the move. "This whole idea is a very naive belief that if we just kind of make it for everybody, everyone will learn," Brookings education researcher Tom Loveless told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2008. That same year, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended against mandating Algebra I at a prescribed grade level. "Exposing students to such coursework before they are ready often leads to frustration, failure, and negative attitudes toward mathematics and learning," the group wrote. But Minnesota kept universal algebra in eighth grade and is the only state that's adopted and stuck with the policy to date. California mandated its plan in 2008 but reversed course in 2010 after a court-ordered postponement and pressure to adopt the Common Core standards, which recommended that eighth graders take pre-algebra, not algebra. About 6.4% of school districts around the country, most of them in Minnesota, report having policies mandating algebra in eighth grade. At Braham and other Minnesota districts, the algebra-to-calculus pipeline hasn't materialized. In some districts, not many students head into careers that require calculus, and that's been true both before and after the mandate, said district leaders. Most students pursue fields in which calculus isn't needed, like nursing, education, business, or dental hygiene, said district social worker and career advisor Staci Kuhnke. Isanti County, where Braham is located, has about 70 manufacturers, an energy company headquarters, a hospital, and a community college. This year, in a senior class of 47 students, just one is taking calculus, through an arrangement with a local community college, she said. Most students do not take a math course in their senior year. Braham ninth grader Savannah Gudilias, 14, said she wished she'd waited till ninth to start Algebra I. She struggled so much that it hurt her confidence in math. "I didn't understand it and still don't," she said. She wants to be a nurse. "Actually, that takes too much math," she said. "Maybe a teacher. But not a math teacher." Caden Rivera, a 16-year-old junior, said middle school was the beginning of a math slide for her. She got As in elementary school math, but her grades fell once she hit algebra in eighth grade. "I was just really immature and didn't pay attention," she said. "And I needed more time—some people learn slower and others faster." After high school, she wants to get a culinary degree and knows she'll need more math, but she has no interest in calculus. Others are doing well in the course. Sean Oldenburg, an eighth grader, wants to someday get a job at the BNSF Railway Company, where four generations of his family have worked. He thinks he'll pursue an engineering degree, which would mean he'd take calculus in high school. Algebra I in eighth grade has been a stretch. "I could do multiplication tables, all that stuff great," he said. "Then you started adding these symbols, and I didn't get it." But he's confident he'll master it. "It just takes time," he said. When it comes to math, Braham's leaders have worries that are more basic than getting students to calculus. District scores on state eighth-grade math tests have lagged behind the state average most years since 2010. The district, which at fewer than 800 students is small, is 87% white and has a poverty level in the low-to-middle range, with 44% of students getting free and reduced-price lunch. Ken Gagner has been Braham's superintendent since 2015. Gagner, trim and graying, is mostly neutral on eighth-grade algebra for all—he said it's good for students to be exposed to increased rigor but worries those who aren't ready for the course could be turned off to math completely. What the district really needs to address its math gap, he and other administrators said, are more certified math teachers, and math tutors to help those struggling and smaller class sizes. Gagner said when the district advertises for math teachers he would be happy "if we would get four applicants." At Pillager Public School District, 100 miles northwest of Braham in another rural town, eighth-grade Algebra I has played out much the same way. Ryan Krominga, the district director of curriculum and instruction, said the mandate came with little direction from the state. So districts simply took their ninth-grade algebra textbook and content and started using it in eighth grade, he said. Many eighth graders aren't developmentally ready for the more complex concepts involved in algebra, he said. They don't get enough time with the concrete elements of math, such as multiplication and division, because there's pressure to get to algebra so quickly, he added. "In my experience, it hasn't worked out," he said of the requirement. "I haven't seen that kids have this huge understanding of mathematics or that they've increased their algebraic thinking." And the district has seen no increase in the number of students taking calculus, he said. Some years, they don't offer the class because they don't have enough students who want it. Not all districts dislike the policy. Jeremy Larson, assistant superintendent of learning and accountability at Moorhead Area Public Schools in the state's far west, said two years of algebra gives the district flexibility to slow down eighth graders who may have been accelerated too fast into Intermediate Algebra, the second part of the district's two-course Algebra I sequence. "If they're in Intermediate Algebra as an eighth grader and it's just kind of difficult, we say, 'Hey, let's just take a step back,'" said Larson. And unlike the other two districts, Moorhead's calculus numbers have increased, though not by much: An average of 1.3% of students in the district were enrolled in calculus in the three years before the eighth-grade requirement took effect in 2010. Today it's about 1.5%, or 13 more students per year in a district with total enrollment of about 6,200. The Minnesota Department of Education contends that the state's drop in calculus enrollment and eighth-grade math scores compared to those of other states isn't representative of its larger efforts. "These are two of many measures of student success that MDE looks at to guide our support of school communities," said spokesperson Anna Arkin in an emailed response to Hechinger's findings. "We are invested in every student receiving a world-class education and thriving in school." There's been no pressure to change the mandate. That's in part because of the 2007 revision legislators made to the state education standards, enabling schools to stretch algebra over two years, said Mike Weimerskirch, associate professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Mathematics. Weimerskirch said the issue didn't come up during the latest state committee revision of the math standards. "It's been long enough now that it's just kind of become accepted, become part of the culture, and we've learned to deal with it," he said. Back in Riccio's eighth-grade algebra class a day later, slowing down made a difference. Riccio decided that it would be a catchup session because so many students struggled with scientific notation the day before. "Looking at some of these papers that you guys handed in, a lot of you have not gotten this concept," he said. He went through the procedures again and put an integer on the whiteboard. "So what is our number then?" he asked. "Would it be 5 times 10?" offered one student. "Why is it 5? No," said Riccio, as students started cross-talking. "Everybody pay attention. Everybody quiet. Focus." He wrote another large integer on the whiteboard. "What if I give you something like this? Any volunteers?" "Can I try it?" said James Belland, a tall 14-year-old in a red T-shirt. "Jimmy, take a stab at it please," said Riccio. Belland came to the whiteboard and wrote the conversion. "You got it Jimmy," said Riccio. "Everybody give him a round of applause." The kids clapped and cheered. Riccio put up another problem and asked whether anyone else wanted to try. Ten hands shot up. "It's nice when these kids start getting it," said Riccio afterward. This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
