In early July, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a bold, direct,
reckless move, perfectly in keeping with his roles as the
Terminator. He sent a letter to the state Board of Education urging
them to require that every eighth grader take Algebra I.
In early July, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a bold, direct, reckless move, perfectly in keeping with his roles as the Terminator. He sent a letter to the state Board of Education urging them to require that every eighth grader take Algebra I.
The Board, on July 9, agreed to mandate it within three years. Consequently, all across the state, middle schools are gearing up to place more eighth graders in Algebra I. This is a huge mistake.
Let me admit first that many eighth graders are ready for algebra I. Heck, I taught my kids, and several of their homeschooled friends, Algebra I at age 12. But algebra readiness has two components, and neither one is grade level. The first component of algebra readiness is developmental. Children grow and mature at different rates, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and cognitively. Just as some children reach physical puberty at 10 and others not until 14 or later, so some children reach the cognitive development stage of logical (or formal) operations at age 11 and others not until age 14. (And these are averages. There are exceptions at both ends of that continuum.)
It is debatable whether there is anything schools can do to accelerate cognitive development. The second component of algebra readiness is basic arithmetic skills. Students of whatever age can learn algebra only if they have mastered their basic arithmetic operations of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, and can apply these operations with equal insouciance regardless of whether the numbers in question are whole numbers, fractions, decimals, or percents.
They must have mastered the long division algorithm. Being comfortable with negative numbers is a definite plus. Mastering basic arithmetic skills is decidedly the province of the schools. California’s math standards have long set eighth-grade algebra as a goal. No other state in the union mandates it for all eighth graders, although Minnesota may soon.
As a result of California’s standard, the fraction of eighth graders enrolled in algebra has been steadily increasing, and is currently at about half (46.9 percent in Gilroy.) The other half are still working on those basic arithmetic skills. And of those who take algebra as eighth graders, only 58 percent in Gilroy test as proficient or advanced. The problem has nothing to do with whether algebra is taught in eighth grade or ninth. The problem begins in elementary school, where students are not learning their basic arithmetic.
In Gilroy Unified, a sad microcosm of the state situation, the percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in math peaks in third grade at 62 percent.
In fourth through seventh grades that percentage is 53, 45, 37, and 43 percent. The problem begins in fourth grade and continues into college.
Gavilan offers far more sections of remedial math courses, algebra and arithmetic, than calculus. Gavilan is not unique.
Victor Dorff writes, “This fall, there will be three basic algebra classes taught at California Lutheran University, with subject matter not substantially different from high school’s Algebra 1. It is a remedial course we require of students who scored poorly on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) they took as part of their college applications.
“On the first day of that class, I will administer a basic number-sense test. The arithmetic it contains is geared for fifth-graders, but my college students usually struggle mightily with it. Some score as low as 15 out of 40; no student has yet to do better than 85 percent.”
He goes on to describe his conversation with one such remedial student. Her career goal? Elementary school teacher. Our math problem is not going to be fixed by forcing every eighth grader in Gilroy, in California, into a lockstep algebra I class.
Instead, we need teacher training programs that train elementary teachers to competently teach basic arithmetic. Parents need to make sure their kids do their homework. Kids need to study diligently. Teachers need to take advantage of every minute of class time. Administrators need to provide discipline so that teachers can concentrate on teaching.
The district office and the board need to adopt math curricula that will teach math, such as Saxon, and hire teachers who can and will teach the lower order thinking skills necessary to the acquisition of higher order thinking skills.
