By Stuart Singer, Author of The Algebra Miracle
Note: Stu Singer is a life-long math teacher and is currently a resident of San Francisco, California
San Francisco takes justifiable pride in many pursuits. Its baseball team has been World Champions twice in the past three years and the football team has the all-time best record in the Super Bowl. The city is a mecca for great food, mild weather and some of the most beautiful vistas in the country. But there is one area in which San Francisco has a dismal record—public education in general and Algebra 1 in specific.
A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle outlined the problem:
“California students who fail algebra and repeat the course are pretty much doomed to fail again, a vicious cycle that wastes limited resources and precious learning time, according to a report released Friday.
“Just over a third of students in the 24 school districts studied had to repeat Algebra I either in ninth or 10th grade, yet even after a second year of study, relatively few were proficient in the subject.
“Of those who took the class in eighth grade and repeated it as freshmen, just 1 in 5 scored at a proficient level on standardized tests. And of those who repeated as sophomores, 9 percent were proficient.”
Devastating data
Transposing those statistics into numbers describes an educational program that is not meeting the needs of its population. For a typical group of 100 California students where half take Algebra 1 in grade eight and the other in grade nine, 35 will fail the course the first time; about 5 of those individuals will be deemed proficient after a second try. Consequently, at the end of two years 30% of all Algebra 1 students will not have mastered the subject.
It gets worse in San Francisco
Those numbers relate to the state of California. In the city by the Bay it is even more dreadful.
“In San Francisco, the study’s findings were particularly relevant. The district pushes students to take Algebra I in eighth grade – and 85 percent do. But just under half tested at a proficient level last spring.
“Meanwhile, new district graduation requirements starting with the graduating class of 2014 include passing not just Algebra I but also geometry and Algebra II, courses needed to get into state colleges and universities.
“Currently, just over half of the class of 2014 is on track to graduate, with many stumbling on the math requirements.”
These numbers are far worse than the dismal results in the remainder of the state. The word “unconscionable” springs to mind. But the remedies being implemented by educational leaders have little chance of success.
Some emotional scars last forever.
As is too often the case the initial response to these problems is to encourage more students to take the course in the eighth grade. The logic behind this strategy has never been fully explained but the results speak for themselves. More than 50% of these students fail to pass the required standardized test. The clearest lesson these fourteen-year-olds learn is that Algebra 1 is just too hard. Small wonder why a second year shows so little improvement. Another avenue of attack is on the classroom teachers. Currently, math teachers in San Francisco are being trained to “to include techniques and examples of lesson plans to help all children learn”. While alternative teaching methods can help, they are rarely the ultimate solution.
Use data not a dartboard
The schools in these studies are not isolated phenomena. Districts all over the country are encountering similar problems in Algebra 1. Because of the sequential nature of mathematics and the need to succeed in the subsequent courses to prepare for higher education, a solution to this dilemma must be found. A recent series of posts have outlined an organized, cohesive method of finding solutions to the national problem with Algebra 1 students. This approach includes:
- Determining the level of math readiness of students throughout the elementary years.
- Finding what creative alternatives are available to the currently unsuccessful traditional sequence of math classes.
- Implementing diagnostic testing to determine the exact concepts that are missing from the skill-set of students.
- Engaging teachers as part of the conversation about potential new strategies that will better allow for student success. They are the best resource for finding causes and solutions.
- Study successful Algebra 1 programs in other cities and states for ideas to be incorporated into the local curriculum.