When deciding who should take algebra, districts should balance expanding early access to the subject in 8th grade with ensuring students are academically ready, according to an article in The 74. Broaden participation while preventing course failure, disengagement, and long-term setbacks is the goal.
Long-term academic success is higher when students are enrolled in Algebra I based on academic readiness rather than grade level, according to research. But acceleration among students with uncertain readiness depends on the level of academic support a district can provide, and the proportion of students considered borderline ready. Enrolling too many students who aren’t fully ready can be disruptive and ineffective. Instead, using tutoring programs to bolster a small number of students would likely be successful.
Students who are not academically ready need significant support to be successful.
The best way to make placement decisions is to use a combination of test scores, rather than subjective referrals or a single test score, according to research. 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.
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.
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 “win” for an educational intervention.
“Double-dose” algebra gives students two math periods a day and improves outcomes. When Chicago Public Schools required underprepared 9th-grade students to take two periods of algebra, student test scores increased. Longer-term gains in college entrance exam scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment rates also improved.
Summer bridge programs help students build the study skills and confidence needed for success in algebra, research shows. One 19-day Algebra I bridge program in California raised the share of algebra-ready students from 12% to 29%.
What districts should avoid are policy shifts that either delay Algebra I for all students or accelerate them without strong, integrated support, according to research, and they should avoid enrollment policies that rely on one static test score or subjective teacher recommendations.
Districts recently have been turning to auto-enrollment policies, allowing students to opt out and support those who may not be academically ready with either tutoring or a second math class. This increases participation and completion rates, research shows.
There will always be trade-offs when it comes to how and when to introduce Algebra I, says Elizabeth Huffaker, a fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis who authored a report on who should take Algebra, when, and with what types of support.
“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 (with the report) was to provide a framework where districts could come in with their local priorities and resources mapped and see what’s realistic for them.”
The 74
