Algebra in 8th Grade: A Good Idea!

Algebra is an abstract subject. It is also a proven predictor of a successful college career. Further, it grants problem solving skills to those who master its precepts. Good problem solvers are the people we want to be our doctors, to make our laws, to defend our country and to discover new things to maintain our well being.

On July 9, 2008, California State Board of Education decided that all California's eighth-graders must take Algebra I by 2011. This is a monumental change in graduation requirements. For it affirmed that some California citizens are not receiving a "good" education and it infers that the state wishes to right the wrong. Presently Latino, black, native American and children of the poor do not meet success in algebra. Many leave high school without skills to earn a college degree that leads to a position in any of the critical fields of science, technology, medicine, computer design, and defense. So low percentages of students of color enter the critical fields. This limits the state's ability to offer the best life to its citizens. On the global level it - low percentage of students of color excelling in math and science - relegates the United States to 21st and 25th places in science and mathematics among a field of 32 developed nations.

Although the algebra success rate for Latino, black, native Americans and children of the poor are low, our white and Asian students master algebra at the same rates and competence levels as students in other developed nations. This internal difference creates an achievement gap that is widening between our student groups. As other countries are investing heavily in the 21st century education of their children, to avoid becoming a second rate country, all of our states must follow the "California algebra" decision and agree to a national standard of student proficiency.

What is good about this decision?
There are two reasons this decision is a good one. First, it calls to end the alternate curriculum to which students of color are often relegated, and generally never escape, when teachers say they are not ready to study algebra. Secondly, this decision serves notice that California demands the best education for all of its students and that it rejects the postponed promises of alternate curriculum. Now, all must begin algebra in 8th grade.

To fulfill the spirit of the decision, teachers need new ways to teach algebra to students having diverse learning styles. As few teacher are equipped with these methods, massive financial resources to train mathematics teachers to teach algebra to populations previously unsuccessful in algebra cannot be avoided. Without these massive investments, the "algebra in 8th grade" requirement will be another failed promise of equality.

Your Child Can Learn Algebra
The times are right for this decision. Methods to teach pre-algebra mathematics that enhance learning algebra exists. They were developed in the tiny nation of Singapore. Since their development, Singapore has not scored less than first place on TIMSS, an international test that 32 developed nations use to measure the effectiveness of the mathematics and science preparations of their students. Parents who home teach have long discovered these methods and use them to teach their children. Many of these parents share their successes on the Internet. Some have developed new techniques and expanded others. Others have posted their secrets in their blogs awaiting those who seek. Studies show that children taught under Singapore style methods demonstrate readiness for algebra and often they outperform students taught under traditional methods.

These methods should be every parent's consideration. They can be had for less the cost of a trip to the movies for two, sans the gas price. They are available in textbooks distributed by Marshall Cavendish, the sole distributor of the Singapore mathematics texts in the United States. Google "Singapore Math" to see the entire inventory.

Get Involved
Interested citizens can help to make this reform succeed. Churches might adopt schools that serve poor performing students and offer tutoring ministries using the Singapore approach to its students. California's decision can mark the end of the era that failed to address the problem of teaching mathematics to the under-served. Hopefully it is the beginning of educational equity as promised in the United States.