San Diego Unified School District ’s math director says she's disappointed California’s Board of Education ruled in favor of requiring all students to take Algebra in the eighth grade. She says the change sets students up for failure. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
Kim Hall says a lot of students in San Diego take Algebra in the eighth grade, but only a small percentage score well on state tests.
She says that's why there need to be alternatives. Right now struggling eighth graders take a readiness course which focuses on basic math and some algebraic concepts. She says those kids tend to be more prepared.
Hall: Algebra is seen as this gatekeeper, and I'm afraid that by requiring 100-percent of our eighth graders to be in Algebra, it will always be a gatekeeper. And we're trying to make it more of a gateway, this gateway into higher level mathematics. So now my job is to figure out ways to support our teachers.
It was Governor Arnold Schwarznegger who pushed the state school board to make the change. He believes its time to raise the bar when it comes to math proficiency.
Now Hall and other public school math directors across California are trying to figure out how the decision will impact classroom instruction from kindergarten to middle school.
Hall says she will have to help kindergarten teachers introduce algebraic thinking into the classroom. She hopes the policy will be revised.
Hall: We have school kids from Somalia who have never been to school before in their lives. And they come in the eighth grade, and we have to put them in Algebra? But at the same time I understand we're going to have to wait for people to make decisions about what it looks like, what are some exceptions.
State School Superintendent Jack O'Connell was against making the change and says he will continue to lobby for a different policy. He says not all kids have the same skills set, there isn't money to support such a policy, and there is not enough math teachers to teach it.
Ana Tintoclais, KPBS News.
