Students misplaced in algebra, study says
Worst performers are minorities
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WASHINGTON - More students than ever are taking algebra in eighth grade but not necessarily learning more math, private researchers report.
In fact, while eighth-graders are doing better on national math tests, students in advanced classes are faring worse, according to the study released today by the Brookings Institution.
"We have kids who are misplaced in their math classes," said Tom Loveless, the study's author. "They don't know very much math at all and yet they're taking courses in advanced math."
The study takes a provocative look at a subject many people view as a matter of racial equality. Once unavailable to many minority and poor children, algebra is becoming widely accepted as a must-have for eighth-graders.
Algebra is considered a "gateway" course for higher learning. Students who take it that year are on track for calculus as seniors. President Clinton made eighth-grade algebra a priority, and an influential 1995 book labeled algebra "The New Civil Right."
Enrollment doubled from 1990 to 2007, when nearly one-third of all eighth-graders were taking algebra. In July, California decided that all eighth-graders should take algebra; Minnesota did so in 2006.
But the study says many students sitting in algebra class are unprepared. Eighth-grade math scores have dropped for algebra students even as overall scores have improved.
The study was based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation's report card. That assessment is the only uniform benchmark of how well children are learning.
In particular, the report looked at low-achieving students. Among the findings:
The study is alarming to some advocates who worry its focus will add to an argument that minority and low-income children should not take the class. The report's title is "The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra"
"So what's the alternative - to let them continue in eighth grade to take low-level or basic math?" said William H. Schmidt, a Michigan State University professor of statistics and education.
"Why would we do that to our children, especially to these minority kids who need to be given a better shot to succeed?" he said. "My big worry is people will use this to say, 'Aha, see, it ain't working, let's put these kids back where they belong.' "
Schmidt noted out that children in dozens of other countries are required take algebra in eighth grade or even earlier. Yet he agrees with Loveless that US students desperately need better preparation.
Math is not like other subjects, said R. James Milgram, a Stanford University mathematician. It is hierarchical, with first-grade math forming the foundation for second-grade math and so on.
Vern Williams, a nationally recognized math teacher in Fairfax County, Va., said the campaign for eighth-grade algebra can result in classes that aren't really algebra.
That is another point the study makes. In the end, Loveless argues it does more harm than good to put unprepared students in what he called "fake" algebra classes taught by underprepared teachers.
"It does not lead to equity," Loveless said.
