School district sees success in low algebra scores
By Nirvi Shah

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, July 25, 2005

To pass this year's final exam in algebra, Palm Beach County students had to answer just 18 out of 50 questions correctly.

That would be a 36 percent on most tests - an F. Typically, a 60 is the lowest passing grade on school work. And to earn an A, students had to mark the right answer for 39 of 50 questions - or 78 percent. That's usually just a C.

As a result, 70 percent of eighth-graders who took it passed the exam, which is designed by a national company, according to recently compiled district results.

That means 30 percent failed, even with a huge curve. And 55 percent of ninth-graders who took the test failed with that same curve.

Still, the district calls those results impressive, in part because they are using a test taken by kids all over the country and because, at the least, more students took algebra this year than ever before.

"It's not a concern because everybody's doing it," said Joanne Patchin, who oversees the district's algebra curriculum. "You really don't expect anyone to get a 100. It's really challenging."

Even Deloris Flint, an executive at testing company ETS, thought earning a passing score by answering just 18 of 50 questions right on her company's exam sounded low. The company doesn't decide how a school district assigns grades for the test. It just delivers results of the multiple-choice exam, she said.

But it could mean that eighth grade is just too soon for students to tackle a subject that requires abstract-thinking skills not developed in most children until they are older. In Palm Beach County, some students got awards just for trying hard and got credit just for getting close to the right answer on class work.

Cathy Seeley, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said taking algebra so early can mean missing out on important middle-school math concepts, and it might encourage some students to forgo math as juniors and seniors in high school because they'll already have earned the math credits they need to graduate.

"We need to raise the level of math for our students," said Seeley, noting that the United States is unique - and possibly behind - in its approach to math. American schools segregate math; other countries blend algebra, geometry, trigonometry and other mathematics, and kids take math throughout school with no particular label. "We need to be very careful about latching on to a single solution."

Two years ago, the Palm Beach County School District, like many nationwide, began a campaign to get more eighth-graders to take algebra, a high school course that is a gateway to higher math and science classes and crucial to success on the math FCAT in 10th grade. Students have to pass that test to graduate.

Superintendent Art Johnson was the biggest proponent, and he still wants all eighth-graders in the class, even if it takes a few years to reach a goal he originally set for last school year.

This year, 6,155 eighth-graders - about half - took the class, which is three times as many as last year.

"I vaguely recall, when we first started doing this, we were going to start out and then we were going to raise the bar," school board member Bill Graham said. He believes making algebra a staple of the middle school curriculum is a good thing. Before, middle school math was a lot of the same, just a little more in-depth from year to year. Then students took a huge leap to algebra in ninth grade.

"The first big step is to have more eighth-graders take it," Graham said. "I'm glad to see eighth-graders willing to jump in even if they don't do well the first time out. I find it difficult to see people practicing what I see as math avoidance."

And if students passed the course with a D on that end-of-year test, which probably meant a low grade on their report card, they have the choice of retaking the class, said Nancy Kinard, who oversees math curriculum for middle and high schools.

"You can pass with a D - that's not good," Kinard said. "But they might be the stars in the class the next year."

To better prepare students for the course, the district revamped sixth- and seventh-grade math classes and bought new textbooks. Even kindergartners now dabble in algebraic concepts.

The district offered summer classes for sixth- and seventh-graders struggling with math. Teachers were trained. They made the classes more hands-on. They gave parents the option of placing their kids in pre-algebra if they felt they weren't ready. And they decided any eighth-grader who doesn't pass both semesters of the class must retake the whole year, not just the semester they struggled with, to make sure they really get it.

All of those things take time to make a real difference, Johnson said, so it will take some time before more kids are ready to take the class. It's a challenging class, unlike any math course kids have taken before, and he believes they will be mesmerized by what they are learning.

"There always has to be a goal," Johnson said. "Students need academic rigor."