Joe Fiedler,
California State University Bakersfield
Dateline: Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 9, 2008: The California State Board of Education voted 8-1 in favor of requiring Algebra 1 of all 8th grade students in California by 2011.
Dateline: Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 28, 2008: Accepting arguments put forward by the California School Board Association and the Association of California School Administrators, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shellyanne Chang ordered the State Board of Education to halt all further action on its mandate that all California 8th-graders be tested in Algebra 1.
How could this happen?
A student’s access to study and master Algebra at the public schools has evolved into an issue as paramount as basic civil rights – in this case, the opportunity to learn and excel in mathematics.
Algebra may be difficult to many students, yet its importance as a gatekeeper course cannot be underscored enough. Any decision by a State Board of Education as momentous as making Algebra 1 an 8th grade requirement surely must come as the result of a careful and thorough process, and well-reasoned decision.
Consider the ramifications of fitting a high school course into a middle school curriculum. In California, the typical high school class period is 60 minutes. The typical middle school period is 50 minutes. After a 180-day school year, an 8th grade student would receive 30 fewer hours of Algebra instruction as compared to a 9th grade student! The 8th grade Algebra teacher receives 17 percent less classroom time with students a year younger on average.
For comparison, consider the teaching of AP Calculus in High Schools. The comparison is fair; the High School audience is on average a year younger than Freshmen students in a College or University calculus course; further both audiences are self-selected. Class periods are of comparable length with the High School enjoying perhaps a small daily advantage. But for the AB exam – by far the more common – the college class will meet 3 or 4 times a week for 16 weeks, while a High School class meets 5 times a week for total of 180 days. A high school student studying Calculus I will have 3 to 4 times as much class time as does a college freshman.
Why do California’s educational policies matter?
Simply put: California is a big when it comes to student population. One out of every seven public school students in the entire United States attends a California school. Major publisher textbooks are also heavily influenced by the requirements of the California State Board of Education.
Flash back more than 10 years
In 1997, a California high school student needed two years of any mathematics to graduate, Algebra 1 was required for a college-level associate’s degree and three years of college prep mathematics (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2) satisfied the entrance requirements for both the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems. While every California teacher at that time was credentialed, estimates of the percentage of high school math teachers with less than a math major ranged from 25 to 50 percent. California was about to enter the arena of standards and accountability.
California education standards were introduced and based on an elaborate regimen of annual testing in grades 2 through 11. Grade level standards were written for grades 1 through 7 and designed to help encourage more students to take Algebra in 8th grade, Standards for grades 8 through 12 were organized into disciplines: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Math Analysis and others.
Five years later: further developments and expectations
In 2001, the California assessment system was developed and required each student from grades 2 through 11 to go through testing for five days each April – six weeks prior to the end of the school year.
The California legislature then began weighing in on the issue of “raising expectations” by mandating the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in English and Mathematics. Development committees were formed to determine items from the California English and Mathematics standards on which to base this exam. A consensus on Mathematics standards proved difficult as there were no grade standards to review beyond grade seven, and high school students were not required to take any advanced mathematics disciplines. Consequently, most of the HSEE items were drawn from grade seven, some from grade six and a few from Algebra 1 standards.
Fast forward to the 2007-08 school year
In California, it takes two years of mathematics, including Algebra 1, to graduate high school. Adjusting to the enhanced high school requirements, Algebra 2 (Intermediate Algebra) is being phased in as a requirement for an associate's degree. The same three years of college prep math still satisfy the entrance requirements for the CSU and UC systems. The California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests for grades 3 through 7 are being used to satisfy most of the elementary grades No Child Left Behind (NCLB) testing requirement. In grade eight, two STAR tests are available: Algebra I and General Math. Local districts have created mechanisms to place mathematically stronger students into Algebra 1 and offer an Algebra readiness curriculum for less well-prepared students.
In 2008, nearly 247,500 8th grade students tested in Algebra I. Forty-two percent were ranked at advanced or proficient levels. Thirty-one percent ranked at below basic or far below basic levels. For 8th graders taking the General Math exam, the results were less encouraging: Thirty-one percent tested advanced or proficient and 41 percent at below or far below basic levels.
That there were two tests given in Grade 8 put California out of compliance with NCLB. During the 2007-08 school year, a solution was crafted. The test given to 8th grade students taking both Algebra and Pre-algebra would be a subset of Algebra 1 standards, focusing on the standards already included on the CAHSEE.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger soon afterward wrote a letter advocating the highest of standards for California students through the adoption of the existing Algebra 1 test for all 8th graders. Despite a current shortfall of 1,000 full qualified 8th grade Algebra 1 teachers and contrary to the objections of the State Superintendent of Education, Algebra 1 would be the grade eight curricula for California by 2011. If this decision stands, it will – without meaningful public debate or funding – have moved a mandate for Algebra from the college level to the 8th grade. In California, it appears the making of educational policy not always a pretty thing. While access to Algebra I in 8th grade is an important right, it does not follow that requiring Algebra I in 8th grade is sound public or educational policy, any more than one should require AP Calculus of all High School students because providing AP calculus to some is important.
Our AP Calculus comparison may tell us why California’s School Boards and School Administrators are trying to block this new policy. There is a shortage of qualified teachers. No one would expect every High School Math Teacher to be prepared to be successful in an AP Calculus classroom. And no one familiar with the many credentialing pathways into California’s middle school mathematics classroom can expect the current cadre of 8th grade math teachers to make themselves effective teachers of Algebra without a massive investment in retraining and professional development. Without an immediate and sustained program for existing and newly recruited teachers, one can confidently predict academic disaster. The California Superintendent of Schools has conservatively estimated the cost of a minimum training project as in excess of $3.5 billion dollars. In assessing the likelihood of such an effort, one should be aware that for the current and next budget years, California faces a $28 billion deficit.
Finally, and sadly for this audience, California teachers are expected to convey the substance and joy of Algebra largely without the use of technology. Graphing calculators are forbidden on state assessments and discouraged in the classroom. The California Board of Education supplies guidance to publishers and to School Districts through the Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. On page 253 as the third sentence in Chapter 9: “The Use of Technology,” we find the warning: “However, along with the potential of such a powerful tool for doing good, the possibility also exists for doing immense, perhaps incalculable harm.” Perhaps, if students were allowed access to TI-73s, TI-84s, and TI-Nspire learning technology, they could calculate the potential harm for California’s State Board of Education.
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