A California family had to make a difficult decision.
Julie Lynem's son had studied algebra in eighth grade, but he hadn't understood some of the basic concepts. That left the family to decide whether to force him to repeat the class in ninth grade (and potentially put him at a disadvantage by preventing him from taking calculus later in high school) or let him move on.
“After a family discussion, we decided that I would repeat Algebra 1 in ninth grade,” said Lynem, a journalism teacher. wrote in CalMatters. They hoped it would increase his confidence and command, she wrote. When he later won a prize for his achievements in mathematics, Lynem determined that the decision had been a good one.
The surrounding state faces similar issues.
Last July, California adopted a new K-12 math framework. Its proponents believe that the framework provides greater flexibility in mathematical paths, while emphasizing a research-based approach that will encourage more students to advance further in mathematics. The California framework has also been fiercely criticized for putting a “reform agenda” before rigorous standards.
Perhaps most controversial was his treatment of algebra. In the final version, the framework recommends starting algebra in ninth grade for most students, which many worry will make them less competitive for college or steer some students away from careers in science. The move was based in part on San Francisco public schools, which had delayed algebra until high school for all students in a high-profile experiment. However, recently the city has change of course amid parental pressure.
California is trying to solve a seemingly intractable problem. Algebra has long been considered a “gateway” to higher mathematics. But there is a lot of variation in how schools decide who is ready for algebra, leading to fewer low-income students, rural students or English learners taking the course in high school. This pattern has left districts searching for new models.
For some researchers, California made a misstep. And at least one researcher hopes that a shift toward a “more nuanced” model based on students' proven aptitude will succeed.
Stuck in reverse
The old way of assigning students to algebra has reinforced disparities. By relying on teacher recommendations or parental advocacy to decide which students are ready, many schools have been unable to get enough talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds to sit in algebra classrooms. That's why low-income, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and rural students (and growing populations like English learners) have Less or just slower access to algebra. Starting algebra early is believed to improve college attractiveness, and the course is often a requirement for high school graduation.
It's a phenomenon that researchers are painfully aware of.
The current system is working disproportionately well for an increasingly smaller portion of the population, says Scott Peters, director of research consulting partnerships at NWEA. In other words, math placements most often fail among the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. population. It is an inefficiency in the educational system, which leaves talent on the table, he says, adding: “Doing nothing is going backwards.”
The nonprofit evaluation organization NWEA, Peters' organization, recently published guide for schools to better identify when students are ready to take algebra, in hopes of encouraging schools to use “universally administered” data points when making math placements. According to this argument, using data points that limit subjective factors (such as teacher impression or parental advocacy) in deciding whether a student is ready for algebra reduces the likelihood that a student will begin studying algebra too early. or too late. The guide is connected to Map growthone of the nonprofit organization's evaluations.
The right to practice algebra
The idea of standardizing aspects of American mathematics education has been floating around.
When the latest scores from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, appeared to show that Utah had outperformed other U.S. states, Lindsey Henderson, a high school math specialist for the Utah State Board of Education, credited state scores in part to the state's integrated system. High school mathematics curriculum mandate. Others, interpreting the results, highlighted the lack of a national mathematics curriculum as one of the reasons for the country's lagging performance internationally.
According to Peters, this could have some relevance to preparation in algebra. But addressing these issues requires nuance and the ability to strike a balance in how states standardize, he says.
Districts that try to flatten racial disparities by having all eighth graders take algebra are applying standardization in the wrong direction, Peters argues. Not all students are prepared for algebra in high school, so this can lead to “massive failure rates,” she says.
But there are also districts that go the other way and only allow the highest achieving students to take early algebra. In these, “you have to be Albert Einstein to be placed in slightly advanced mathematics, so exaggerated that it's ridiculous,” Peters says.
Both approaches seek to force students into or out of algebra. “They have both been tried and they are both stupid,” she adds.
Peters proposed better models of standardization: automatic enrollments based on demonstrated aptitude, also known as “opt-out” policies. In these systems, students are automatically enrolled in algebra (unless they opt out) after achieving high scores on standardized tests. That's where Peters hopes his guidelines will help, directing districts to adopt broad standards.
There are currently some examples of this model in practice. In 2018, Ohio adopted one such policy. So now, when a student in the state scores above the 95th percentile on standardized achievement tests like the TerraNova, they are automatically labeled “gifted.” These students can access advanced math classes, and schools must also submit reports on who they classify as “gifted” to the state department of education.
In the past five years, other states (including Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Illinois and Texas) have adopted some version of automatic enrollment policies. Legislatures in these states have chosen to require schools to make algebra available to students who have demonstrated readiness by earning high scores on state tests.
Some see it as a stealth “bipartisan” option to recalculate algebra, reducing disparities without relying on contentious reform approaches. North Carolina, which passed a version of this in 2018, released a review of its program that suggested that it has had some success. While it did not completely eliminate disparities, the state review of the program's effect reported that: “The majority of North Carolina's mathematically talented students are taking advanced mathematics courses in their public schools, and the percentage of those students has increased every anus”.
Ultimately, for Peters, that's the most promising path. It eliminates the kind of discretion that tends to correlate with resources and segregation, Peters argues. However, it also does not throw students who may not be prepared into difficult mathematics.
