Pawlenty’s math instruction goal might not add up

04/13/2006

Educators unsure if algebra proposal can work in practice

BY MEGAN BOLDT
Pioneer Press

Mary Hoffman’s board is packed with algebra, tricky problems loaded with exponents and variables.

Work it out in chunks, she tells her slightly puzzled eighth-graders at Apple Valley Falcon Ridge Middle School. Simplify whenever possible. By the time the bell rings, her Algebra 1 students usually get it.

This is Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s dream classroom. In a plan first touted in last month’s State of the State address, Pawlenty said he wants all eighth-graders to take Algebra 1 and high school students to pass Algebra 2 before graduation, a move he hopes will strengthen student math skills across Minnesota.

But educators say it’s easier said than done.

More rigorous math instruction in middle school and high school years means boosting math instruction in elementary school. And that may mean more training for elementary teachers, whose education often is more focused on language arts than math.

Raising math expectations also means tackling math-anxiety issues with students — and possibly their parents.

Inside her Apple Valley classroom, Hoffman said she doesn’t know if it’s feasible. To make it work, math teachers would need longer class periods, smaller class sizes and aides to help kids who are struggling. And parents would play a role, she said.

“The rigor has to start in the elementary schools and carry through to the middle schools or they will not be ready for algebra by eighth grade,” Hoffman said. “And rigor includes studying at home and parental support. If this is going to fly, we need parents involved at home.”

Students across the nation are falling behind when it comes to math and science, and many argue something has to be done to increase the rigor.

Minnesota trails other states in math readiness. Only 27 percent of Minnesota eighth-graders took Algebra 1 in 2003, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That’s compared with the national average of 31 percent and 43 percent for the top five states.

Fifty-nine percent of the state’s high school graduates took Algebra 2 while 72 percent of students nationally took the course before graduation, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said schools need time to change the math curriculum and train teachers to make the transition successful. The earliest the new math standards could be in place would be during the 2008-09 school year, starting with today’s fifth-graders.

But if Minnesota waits too long, Seagren said, students will continue to fall further behind.

“The biggest task ahead of us is not only preparing our educational system for these changes, but to get the public, students and parents to realize that if we don’t make these changes, our state is going to be economically hurt,” Seagren said. “We just don’t have enough people in the pipeline for those math- and science-focused fields.”

The more rigorous math students take, the more prepared they will be for college. And in Minnesota, high school graduates appear better equipped for language arts courses than they are for math.

That point is clear in a joint report from the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities systems in 2005.

About one-third of students who graduate from Minnesota high schools and go on to public colleges and universities in the state must take some sort of remedial course in college. At the U, 99 percent of those students were enrolled in a developmental math class. At state colleges and universities, about 82 percent of those students were in math as well.

“I don’t want to paint a doom-and-gloom picture,” Seagren said. “I think our kids have enough fundamental strength to bring them to the next level.”

State officials and local educators agree that teachers are going to need training — especially in the elementary schools — to make the transition successful.

Bonnie Hagelberger, a first-grade teacher at Monroe Elementary in Brooklyn Park, said some elementary teachers spend two to four more times on language arts than math or sciences.

“It sounds like a middle school and high school issue, but it’s really an elementary problem,” said Hagelberger, a member of the board of directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “But in order for this to work, for students to take algebra in eighth grade, they need a rich foundation in math to be successful.”

The Rochester school district started putting more emphasis on teacher knowledge in math and science in 1994 by changing its hiring policy. All elementary instructors must have at least nine quarter credits in both math and science before they are hired.

Those credits can’t come from courses on how to teach those subjects. They must be actual content classes from the college or university’s math and science departments.

“I think it’s typical for elementary teachers to be language-oriented rather than math-oriented,” said Rochester Superintendent Jerry Williams. “A big part of elementary education is teaching kids how to read, so that’s natural.”

State officials and educators also say parents and community members need to get revved up about math and science. Seagren pointed out that despite the evidence that kids are falling behind in these subjects, many parents believe their kids are doing just fine.

A poll conducted by Public Agenda, a national research group that tracks education trends, shows that about 70 percent of high school parents say their child gets the right amount of science and math.

“I think, as a culture, we’re math averse,” Seagren said. “But now our world is changing.’’

At Falcon Ridge in Apple Valley, about 20 percent of eighth-graders take algebra, which is the accelerated math. The rest of the students are in pre-algebra.

Students there have mixed feelings about requiring the whole grade to take the higher level of math.

Vlade Jones, 14, said math is one of his better subjects, but he couldn’t imagine taking algebra right now. “I think it would be really hard. I’ve seen the stuff they do in that class and it’s hard,” he said.

Cory Patel was torn. He said if he has a good teacher and some additional help, he does well in math. But if he doesn’t, it can be more difficult.

“I think it’s fine where we are, but I guess upping the standards wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Patel said. “For us to take algebra, I think they need to condition us earlier so students are ready.”

Therese Harrah is in algebra this year and thinks about half her classmates could take the class. She also thinks there’s a big fear of math out there that students could overcome by taking good notes, following directions and taking the problems one step at a time.

“People think it’s really hard because of all the equations, variables and exponents,” Therese said. “But as soon as you learn how to break down the solutions in different parts, it’s not that hard.”

Math standards

Next revision: 2006-07 school year

Potential new requirements: Algebra 1 by eighth grade and Algebra 2 by graduation.

When the new standards go into effect: The 2008-09 school year, starting with the class of 2013.

Science standards

Next revision: The 2008-09 school year.

Potential new requirements: At least one credit in chemistry.

When the new standards take effect: The 2010-11 school year, starting with the class of 2014.

WHAT IS ALGEBRA?

It’s a branch of math where operations of arithmetic are generalized by using symbols, like letters, to stand for unknown numbers.