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8th Grade, Algebra May Be Bad Equation

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The Associated Press

Published: September 22, 2008

WASHINGTON - More children than ever are taking algebra in eighth grade but they are 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 being 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 as eighth-graders 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 youngsters 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.

The study is alarming to some advocates who worry its focus will add to an argument that minority and low-income students 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.

Schmidt pointed out that children in dozens of other countries are required take algebra in eighth grade or even earlier. Yet he agrees with Loveless that U.S. 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.

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