Algebra Forum

Silicon Valley Education Foundation

Ze’ev Wurman

March 24, 2012

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Algebra 1 Taking in PAUSD by 8th Grade

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2004% of Algebra Taking by Grade 8 vs. Algebra 1 Achievement

California School-Level Data

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School Grade 8 Algebra Scaled Student Score

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School Grade 8 Algebra Scaled Student Score

2004 vs. 2012% of Algebra Taking by Grade 8 vs. Algebra 1 Achievement

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Algebra 1 by Grade 8 Algebra 2 by Grade 11 Geometry by Grade 11

Growth in Proficient & Advanced Among Different Groups In California

2003-2012Note: Cohort size changed by less than 5%

What the Current Framework Draft Suggests (1 of 3)

• 1. Decisions to accelerate students into the Common Core State Standards for higher mathematics before ninth grade should not be rushed. Placing students into an accelerated pathway too early should be avoided at all costs. It is not recommended to compact the standards before grade seven to ensure that students are developmentally ready for accelerated content. In this document, compaction begins in seventh grade for both the traditional and integrated sequences.

What the Current Framework Draft Suggests (2 of 3)

• 2. Decisions to accelerate students into higher mathematics before ninth grade must require solid evidence of mastery of prerequisite CCSSM. “Mathematics is by nature hierarchical. Every step is a preparation for the next one. Learning it properly requires thorough grounding at each step and skimming over any topics will only weaken one’s ability to tackle more complex material down the road” (Wu, 2012). Serious efforts must be made to consider solid evidence of a student’s conceptual understanding, knowledge of procedural skills, fluency, and ability to apply mathematics before moving a student into an accelerated pathway.

What the Current Framework Draft Suggests (3 of 3)

• 3. Compacted courses should include the same Common Core State Standards as the non-compacted courses. “Learning the mathematics prescribed by CCSSM requires that all students, including those most accomplished in mathematics, rise to the challenge by spending the time to learn each topic with diligence and dedication. Skimming over existing materials in order to rush ahead to more advanced topics will no longer be considered good practice” (Wu, 2012). When considering accelerated pathways, it is recommended to compact three years of material into two years, rather than compacting two years into one. The rationale is that mathematical concepts are likely to be omitted when trying to squeeze two years of material into one. This is to be avoided, as the standards have been carefully developed to define clear learning progressions through the major mathematical domains. Moreover, the compacted courses should not sacrifice attention to the Mathematical Practices Standards.

Doesn’t this remind us of the days 10 years ago, when schools and districts prevented EL students from being Reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (R-FEP) and placed barriers in front of them? That was despite the fact that over 150,000 of those EL students in 2004 scored above native English speakers.

That was the bilingual lobby in action, trying to protect the extra money it got from federal and state sources for those kids.

Now we have the Defenders of the Common Core protecting the indefensible, while trying to keep

talented kids down.

The Academic Content Standards Commission deliberated on this issue in 2010 and recognized the need to offer two options in grade 8 rather than dumbing down our current expectations. This was done by a broad consensus of the Commission.

Instead, we have now abandoned those high expectation and decided to place barriers in front of many talented and bored students. Exhortations that “every standard counts” and that placing students too early should be avoided “at all costs” are nothing but code-words for placing obstacles on the way of aspiring students. Why not, instead, avoid “at all cost” keeping students in boring and meandering classes?

This is a recent testimony of the immediate past president of the North California chapter of the California Mathematics

Council (CMC), on the issue of offering Algebra choice to our 8th grade students.

I … really appreciate having only one course at eighth grade. There are a lot of districts out there who, I know, have been putting off professional development, moving forward implementing the standards, because there hasn’t been a clearly defined pathway in eighth grade and so now I think we can finally move forward. And, also, by eliminating a lot of the additions we can now work with other states and take advantage of resources that are already out there.

Gretchen Muller, Jan. 2013

One would imagine that CMC would fight for the right of students to learn challenging mathematics.

One would be wrong.

In summary

• More that 165,000 students every year, 1/3 of the cohort, successfully prove they can master Algebra 1 by grade 8; this is triple that of 10 years ago

• Because of that, three times as many students successfully complete Geometry and Algebra 2than ten years ago

• Minorities were the prime beneficiaries of this effort

• Many schools do even better than that

• Yet California prefers to dumb down its expectations rather than build on this incredible success