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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Drowning in algebra
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An independent audit shows that high failure rates on the eighth-grade math CRCT can’t be blamed on a flawed test.
State officials have long said students struggled because the test was based on a new, more challenging math curriculum. Georgia’s new standards call for all students to learn some algebra in middle school. Previously only the brightest students took these lessons in middle school.
Is this too much math too soon?
A new study from the Brookings Institute looks at the push to have more eighth-graders take algebra and says many low-achieving students forced into the classes are struggling. The report says some of these struggling students have second-grade math skills.
Algebra is considered a gateway to college course, so it’s understandable why educators want more kids to take it.
But what are the consequences of putting kids in this class before they’re ready? What must be done to make sure students are prepared for algebra?
