Mathing Matters: Drinking Math From a Fire Hose

Report cards are about to be sent home for the first time this school year and parents may be seeing the signs that their students are not doing as well as hoped. Unfortunately, it does not get easier from here, only harder. So whether it is math or some other subject, it is never too early to seek help outside the classroom. But the main focus of this article will be on those at the other end of the spectrum: the brightest math students that have not had issues in the past. However, these students may begin to struggle with higher-level material due to well-intentioned school administrators that are pushing kids into college-prep Algebra I courses as soon as possible.

Even though I will cite examples form the Waukee Community School District, this occurs in districts throughout our community, state, and nation. As a small business owner who sees these students everyday in my center, and as a dad that will have kids in the Waukee district starting next school year, I have a unique view of the effects those policies such as “Algebra-for-All” and advancing 5th graders to pre-algebra or even algebra can have on students.

The Waukee School District administers the Iowa Algebra Readiness Assessment to select 4th graders. An article from June 7, 2011 in the Des Moines Register noted 61 kids out of 73 tested passed the assessment. These kids are put into pre-algebra (a.k.a. 8th grade math) in 5th grade to take college-prep Algebra I in 6th grade. Five of the students tested were put directly into Algebra I as 5th graders. Also, starting last school year a large number of 6th graders were placed into pre-algebra to take algebra in 7th grade.

Normally kids take Algebra I in 9th grade. Taking Algebra I in the 8th grade is considered one year advanced. In the early 1990’s, only one in six students took Algebra I before the 9th grade. Today, the number is closer to one-third according to an Education Week article titled “Studies Question Value of Early Algebra Lessons”. Waukee now considers algebra an 8th grade course. 

In the Register article Waukee Superintendent Dave Wilkerson credits Everyday Math for the large number of students who will take pre-algebra and algebra as fifth graders. Please see my past blogs for a closer look at Everyday Math (EDM) and “Algebra Too Soon”.

The result of these policies is that you have kids skipping from 4th grade EDM to 8th grade math. They are skipping 3 grade levels ahead. I have assessed these kids at my center and they are very bright, often multiple grade levels ahead. But it is usually in spite of EDM due to supplementation by parents, extra work in gifted programs at school that are not tied to EDM, or getting extra practice at centers like mine. Due to skipping all 5th-7th-grade math and being in EDM, many of these kids simply haven’t been exposed to the pre-requisite skills to succeed in pre-algebra. And thus pre-algebra class has resorted to teaching long division and other middle school math instead of being a true algebra prep class.

I recently assessed a Waukee 5th grader placed in this pre-algebra class this school year. The student is very advanced but only got a 52% on our end of 6th grade assessment that aligns to the common core state standards now adopted by Iowa. He is multiple grade levels ahead, but is now is considered behind due to being placed in pre-algebra. Although his computation skills are impeccable from working at home with his parents, he simply hasn’t seen a lot of the higher-level material that is covered in regular 5th-7th grade math.

Pre-algebra should not be used to teach long-division, how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and decimals, how to convert decimals, percents, and fractions, factoring, exponents, and many other topics covered in 5th – 7th grade math. So are these kids getting a true preparation to succeed in algebra? Time will tell.

It should also be noted that the 4th grade Everyday Math course these students are coming from spends 4 out of 12 units focused on geometry concepts. The 5th grade curriculum only has 3 out of 12 units on geometry but spends 2 on data analysis and graphing. And this includes the last unit which is just review. Thus 9 out of 22 units with new material in 4th and 5th grade EDM deal primarily with geometry or data analysis. There is just not enough time or practice in the other units to be truly prepared to do well in a full-blown pre-algebra or Algebra I course.

I have another student at my center that is now in 7th grade and was placed in pre-algebra as a 6th grader and now is in Algebra I. He was one of the brightest math students in 5th grade and got A’s (or S's for those in the Waukee District). His confidence was sky high. But he struggled last year in pre-algebra despite the teacher’s effort and supplementing the text with learning long division and other topics that were skipped. He now is only just getting by in what I consider a watered down version of Algebra I and has lost all confidence in his abilities. This is a very bright student that was not behind, but due to well intentioned plans to get him ahead and allow him the opportunity to take more advanced courses in high school, is behind and will continue to struggle with math until he has the chance to fill in those foundational skills he missed by skipping middle school math.

As I mentioned in a prior blog, middle school math is the math we do everyday in our jobs. Shouldn’t we be spending more time on these key skills rather than less? Watch for my next blog that will go deeper into the "Algebra For All" policy and the studies that find it significantly harming average and below average students. 

Dan Gehlbach is the owner and center director of Mathnasium – The Math Learning Center, located in West Des Moines and within the Waukee School District. Dan lives with his wife and 2 daughters in Urbandale. Year round, the center helps kids get caught up, keep up and get ahead while they develop confidence and a love for math. For more information call 440-MATH or consult the web site at www.mathnasium.com/westdesmoines.