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Sac State ENGL 20 - Faces of algebra

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Faces of algebraBy Deb KollarsBee Staff Writer(Published Dec. 10, 2000)Eighth-grader Manpreet Kaur works out an algebra homework problem duringclassat Spring View Middle School in Rocklin. New state laws make algebra a requiredclass for all high school students to graduate, and California's academic standardssay algebra should be taught in eighth grade, if possible.Say you're at a party. There are 25 people there. You bring up a certain subjectfrom school that we'll call "x." There are 12 loud groans, 10 blank stares andthree little cries of delight.What is x?If you're a product of American schools, chances are good you nailed this one.Yes, we're talking about algebra, land of misery for many, hallowed ground to afew. And as of this fall, one of the hottest subjects in public schools.A noble yet nettlesome old subject, algebra has been around longer than therehave been schools. But its treasures and tribulations have been largely limitedtoan exclusive band of students: those at least in ninth grade and on their way tocollege.In California, those days are over.Algebra is being ordered up as a standard course of study for eighth-graders. Itsbasic themes are being taught to children as young as kindergarten. And startingwith this year's freshman class, the subject is being required of every studentwho intends to graduate from high school.It is a huge shift for kids and for schools but one that offers lofty rewards. It willopen the doors of higher mathematics and college to more students. It will giveyoung people more options in their lives. And beyond all that, the new blanket ofalgebra will endow students with something invaluable: the ability to ponder, tosolve problems and to sort things out no matter how tough.Algebra, in simple terms, will teach people how to think.The California crusade for algebra has been gaining in strength for several years.In 1997, the state's best minds in math got together and came up with a newcollection of mathematics guidelines for schools. Adopted by the California Boardof Education, the standards took a strong position on algebra, a system ofmathematics that uses letters to represent numbers. The standards called for thesubject to be covered in eighth grade, with algebraic themes to be taught allthrough the grade school years.Two years later, Gov. Gray Davis fought for and won legislative approval of thestate's first high school exit exam. The test, which will include a section onalgebra, must be passed to obtain a diploma from a California public school.And this fall, the governor signed what was known around the Capitol as the"Algebra Bill." The new law, which takes effect now for the graduating class of2004, makes Algebra 1 a graduation requirement in all public schools.Some school districts already had such a requirement. But until now, the stateonly required two years of mathematics to graduate and did not specify thecontent. As a result, many students left school with classes such as "GeneralMath" or "Basic Math" on their transcripts, never moving beyond a fifth- or sixthgrademath level.They also tended to leave with something else: the sense that math is boring andof little relevance to their lives.It is a great loss, said Alec Ostrom, assistant superintendent in the Roseville JointUnion High School District."These are kids who have been in what I call the math recycling program," he said."They study the same low-level stuff year after year. They never get to algebra,which means they miss out on a lot."It's not just about math. Algebra teaches you how to think and how to getunstuck. Adult life will bring complex problems, and the people who can't getunstuck get lost."Ostrom is among many local educators who support the goal of making algebrahappen for all students.But it will not be easy to accomplish.In the Sacramento region and up and down the state, middle and high schoolprincipals are struggling to find enough teachers, books and classrooms to get thejob done. Many are privately grumbling, questioning whether it is possible toteachalgebra to every student, especially at the eighth-grade level.Until now, most local districts have been putting only their highest-achievingmiddle school students through algebra. At the high school level, many freshmencome with math skills too low to handle the rigors of the subject. Statewideestimates indicate that about a third of high school graduates do not completethe course.In many places, the numbers run higher; in the Sacramento City Unified SchoolDistrict, about half of graduates do not complete Algebra 1.John Mockler, California's interim secretary for education, has worked in educationfor years and has seen a lot of changes arrive at schools. This new drive foralgebra, he said, will go down as one of the more difficult and far-reachingmovements."This is big," Mockler said. "And it's going to be hard for everyone, including thekids and their families, especially those without algebra backgrounds or money tospend on tutors."The algebraic summons in California mirrors a nationwide trend. It was born, inlarge part, of a basic question about fairness.Over the years, as people have tried to address the poor achievement of lowincomeand minority students, they have studied many sides of the problem:Which boys and girls take honors classes? Who goes on to college? Who ends upwith the better jobs?Increasingly, people noticed a link to an unsplashy fundamental of high school.Kids who take algebra wind up going to college at rates exceeding those whodon't. And the kids who don't get algebra tend to be disproportionately from poorand minority backgrounds."For generations, algebra has been used to eliminate possibilities for people," saidUri Treisman, a math professor at the University of Texas, Austin.During the late 1980s and 1990s, "algebra for all" grew as a mantra across thenation. Universities, tired of having to teach remedial math to freshmen, joinedthe call. So did employers, whose need for better-educated workers surged withthe rise of high technology.U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley was among many prominent leadersurging that all students complete algebra, ideally by the end of eighth grade. In a1997 policy paper, Riley said national statistics showed that 83 percent ofstudents who took Algebra 1 and Geometry went on to college within two yearsof graduating from high school, compared with 36 percent of those who did not."Algebra is known as the gatekeeper course," said Kati Haycock,


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