MAKING THE “CUT”: ONE DISTRICT'S STRATEGY OR ALGEBRA PLACEMENT

Some of the most discussed issues in mathematics education today involve Algebra and its instruction. These issues include the optimal timeline for when students first take a formal algebra course, the related selection process for getting into that first course and what algebra instruction should generally look like throughout the curriculum. Algebra is being recognized as a key “gate-keeper” course for high school and college success and has even been called an emerging “civil rights issue” by some researchers and authors. When to place students into an algebra class and how to ensure that a student is ready for Algebra are both critical curriculum decisions for a district. In many districts, algebra placement is a process that may be undergoing considerable revision along with how algebra is integrated across the curriculum. This article describes one district’s approach for evaluating and revising their placement strategy for admitting students into their first middle school algebra course.