Currently about 25 percent of 8th graders complete algebra or a higher-level math course, but students who don't complete first-year algebra by 8th grade are seldom able to take calculus in high school, which colleges like to see on transcripts. In a two-part series in The Washington Post this week, veteran reporter Jay Matthews describes the efforts of some states and school districts to get more of their students-maybe even all of them-to pass algebra by the end of eighth grade. This gives rise to its own problems, including the dumbing-down of some "algebra" classes.
Many believe that setting high standards for all students in middle school is a way to help them make the transition to the stiffer expectations of high schools, and there is some evidence that low-performing students raise their performance when placed in more challenging classes. But some educators complain that their 8th grade students are not ready to handle algebra.
One response has been to offer classes that bear the name algebra but little of its content. According to Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution, many schools are giving up on kids who can't do basic arithmetic, putting them in faux algebra courses to cover up the problem. And sometimes the states are complicit in this practice. For example, Maryland officials acknowledge that their statewide algebra test contains very little actual algebra. They say Maryland's strategy is gradually to raise the bar and offer stronger algebra courses and tests later. Virginia has adopted a different approach, developing a strong algebra test in part to persuade schools to upgrade their teaching and toughen their curricula in this "gatekeeper" subject.
In several Virginia school districts surveyed by Mathews, 35, 41, even 60 percent of 8th graders are taking algebra, which suggests that setting the bar high is having an effect. Perhaps states like Maryland should to take a harder look at why so many 8th graders lack preparation for algebra.
"Algebra Poses a Problem of Timing," By Jay Mathews, The Washington Post, August 18, 2002
"Algebra = X in One School, Y in Another," by Jay Mathews, The Washington Post, August 19, 2002