Comments on: Algebra, all summer long

By: Math Blog » Blog Archive » Math Catch-Up

Math Blog » Blog Archive » Math Catch-Up — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:22:16 +0000

[...] Students in Oakland, CA, are studying math this summer. [...]

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:00:22 +0000

Gee this academy sounds great. Wish my daughter could have taken it, maybe she wouldn’t be taking Algebra for the third time this summer (also at Tech, where I daresay the class is not as “inviting” as Katy found this class). Will there be real support for the kids who struggle in math? Or will they just be expected to keep taking it until they pass, or get so fed up with a school system that is so completely unresponsive to their needs, that they just drop out.

This reminds of a fractured fairy tale, Emperor Ahnold sends an edict out throughout the land that all the 8th graders shall take algebra. Only there isn’t any fairy godmother who can wave a magic wand and turn kids who have struggled in math for years into algebra scholars. Until and unless Oakland is going to commit resources to identifying and helping the kids who need it (and based on my experience they don’t have the will or people-power to do so), they have no business imposing a requirement like this.

By: Nextset

Nextset — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:54:01 +0000

I have destroyed a project I didn’t like once by loading it up with odious requirements until it collapsed. That is a very old trick. The amusing part is that the players don’t realize they were never supposed to succeed until it’s all over.

This is no different.

The real purpose of forcing inappropriate students into algebra is to wreck the math program and screw over all the students. You are presumed to intend the logical results of your actions.

Repeat after me: “These are not real schools. These are not real schools.”

In a real school the students are not placed in programs they are expected to fail. Algebra would be introduced in math classes early – say 4th and 5th grade on. Those who pick up would be identified and moved up to the higher math classes. Those who can’t grasp the concepts would continue survey courses while developing other talents that do progress to higher levels. If the child and family want him/her to take the higher math classes they would be allowed to enroll against advice.

By: ex oakland staff

ex oakland staff — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:49:48 +0000

If you want to kill a music program, a real good way to do it is to make it impossible for kids who are good at math to participate in music. If middle school kids can’t take music, they are likely not to start up in high school, so this policy is going to really efficient at decimating secondary music classes.

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:30:45 +0000

I am for enabling all kids to achieve at their highest possible level. Unfortunately the flip side of the district’s plan is to hold back the kids who can do algebra in 7th grade and geometry in 8th. You recently posted a story about the Urban Promise middle school geometry class that had the highest test scores (http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2009/06/04/dont-call-them-nerds-geometry-prowess-at-oaklands-urban-promise-academy/). Next year there will be no regular geometry class at that school. It will only be offered as an elective that must be taken at the same time as algebra. If you take additional math as an elective you most likely won’t be able to take music or a foreign language. This is the plan for high achieving math students in all middle schools. To me it seems like punishing them for their achievement.

By: Steven Weinberg

Steven Weinberg — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:45:26 +0000

I do not agree with placing students who do not know basic math concepts in Algebra I. At the school where I last worked, when we increased the percentage of students in Algebra I from 30% to 50% we found that the teachers were unable to cover all of required material with any of the students, and our Proficiency rate for Algebra students dropped significantly. This year we grouped the marginal Algebra I students together and kept the more able student together and had large jumps for our scores on the district assessments.
It is also interesting to note that the instructions from the district for selecting students for the summer Algebra academies emphasized picking students who would be able to succeed in Algebra I with this extra help, in other words, schools were not supposed to place the least skilled students in the Algebra academies. Nonetheless, those students will be required to take Algebra I in the fall.
No state other than California is even attempting to place all students in Algebra I in eighth grade. All the math teacher groups oppose it. Math teachers at Montera, the middle school with the highest math scores, recently presented their unanimous opposition to the idea.
State Superintendent Jack O’Connell opposes the Algebra I for all requirement.
Almost no other districts have all their students in Algebra I.
Take a look at Piedmont, for example. Only half their students take Algebra I in eighth grade, but 88% of those students test Proficient on the CST, and almost all their students complete Algebra I in either eighth or ninth grade. Oakland still has 25% taking Algebra I in the tenth grade.
I have heard some argue that we must require Algebra for all because otherwise white and Asian students will get Algebra in the eighth grade, and Latino and black students will not. The state statistics do not support that claim. Many white students and some Asians do not take Algebra I in eighth grade across the state, and it is clear that there are far more underprepared black and Latino students in Algebra I classes than other groups.
Algebra academies are an excellent idea, but requiring Algebra I for all eighth graders is not.