A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh is reviewing and analyzing policy documents and studies related to Algebra I learning and teaching, in order to (1) gain a better understanding of algebra education in the United States; and (2) conduct an accounting of research questions that have and have not been taken up by policy documents to date (i.e., what we know and what we need to know). The results are to be disseminated to both the mathematics education research community and to the education policy community. Further discussion and dissemination is planned through an invitational conference in Washington, DC. The findings will also be used to set a research agenda for algebra learning and teaching.
More students are enrolled in algebra in eighth grade, reflecting the steady press in the United States for more students to take more rigorous courses. However, some students at similar achievement levels are not given equitable access to algebra; this is particularly true for minority and low-income students. In studies that do not include information about the policy environment for instruction, taking algebra in eighth grade is a strong predictor of taking more advanced mathematics courses in high school and obtaining higher mathematics achievement scores. Nonetheless, we believe that these findings are in large part due to unmeasured factors reflecting that most students are selected from among their peers to take eighth-grade algebra. These unmeasured factors could include students' higher expectations of themselves, teachers' higher expectations of them, and learning potential beyond what is measured on standardized tests. Thus, these studies do not provide insight about student outcomes in an environment where all students are required to take algebra. Additionally, these studies - which focus on outcomes for students who take algebra in eighth grade - may provide less clear guidance for universal ninth-grade algebra policies. Most research on the effects of universal algebra policies – and accompanying initiatives - focus on ninth-grade students, although a few also investigate universal eighth-grade algebra policies. This research indicates that most all universal algebra policy efforts can greatly increase algebra enrollment at the same time that pass rates generally decrease or stay the same. Additionally, we find mostly mixed evidence on whether universal algebra policies lead to improvements in student achievement. Finally, these studies provide almost no data regarding teachers' instruction and often do not provide enough detail about the capacity-building components of algebra policy initiatives that could impact the quality of teaching and learning. These findings on studies of universal algebra policies have several implications: First, they suggest that many students who were previously excluded from algebra will succeed when they are included, although some students will also struggle with algebra and may fail. Second, they indicate that variation in district context, capacity-building components of policy initiatives, and teacher instruction all play major roles in student outcomes of universal algebra policies. Third, they provide an impetus for studies designed to help us understand how algebra policies impact teachers' instruction, the key mediating variable between policies and student outcomes. Thus, in addition to gathering data on student learning, we recommend that studies include classroom observations to gauge the nature and quality of teacher instruction, as well as more qualitative data on teachers to help us understand what components of policies initiatives link with quality teaching and learning. Such components might include detailed descriptions about support for teacher learning, support services for student learning, and alignment of content and instruction across grade levels.
