Garcia urges earlier proficiency in algebra

Terry Webster

Thursday, July 12, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

A single word is enough to scare students who cling to their calculators or barely make it through basic math.

Algebra.

Yet educators say algebra opens the door to a college education. And algebra skills are needed to pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam, a graduation requirement.

For those reasons, all students should take algebra by eighth grade, according to Carlos Garcia, superintendent of the Clark County School District.

Under the superintendent's plan, they will.

Traditionally, middle school algebra has been for high achievers.

Now Clark County is joining a national push to introduce algebra to all students before high school. California state standards, for example, require algebra by eighth grade.

Critics question the usefulness of algebra for all students. And they doubt whether all students can handle it.

Others dismiss middle school algebra as the latest catch phrase in education.

"In the traditional sense, there is a lot more lip service being given to it than there are students actually doing it," said Pamela Matthews, a policy analyst for the National Education Association, a national teachers union based in Washington, D.C.

The best programs in middle school, and the most successful ones, Matthews said, integrate algebra with geometry, probability and statistics. And they cater to students' different learning styles.

While details remain to be worked out, Clark County's own algebra movement is forging ahead.

Garcia said he realized it was needed after he began talking to students in remedial math classes for the Proficiency Exam.

He found a common theme.

"Over and over again, students said to me, 'It's not fair, because you didn't make us take the classes that cover the Proficiency Exam,' Garcia said. "I sat there and I said, 'Guilty as charged.' "

If we really want kids to be successful, Garcia said, they are going to have to do some things they don't like -- such as algebra.

"Then, in the long run, they are going to be more successful," he said.

Two years ago, about 10 percent of the district's middle school students were taking algebra. That figure went up to about 15 percent last year.

In the coming school year, the district hopes to have roughly 25 percent of all eighth graders enrolled in algebra. More students will be added in each following year. Within three years, all middle school students will have algebra by eighth grade.

"We aren't going to 100 percent right away," Garcia said. "We don't have the teaching staff, the credentialed teachers or the training to make sure every teacher is successful. Why would we put kids in a situation where they had a teacher who really couldn't teach the subject?"

At the same time, Garcia said he likes to get programs started, rather than talk about them for years or write up reports that collect dust.

While he is aggressive in advocating the change, the road to eighth grade algebra promises to be bumpy.

According to John Jasonek, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, the teachers union, the idea lacks certain ingredients.

"Personally, I don't oppose it," Jasonek said. "But you need the teachers to teach it and high morale. We don't have those elements."

To start, the district will use teachers who are certified to teach grades kindergarten through eight after running them through a training course.

Exactly how the training course will operate is still being worked out, said Bill Hanlon, director of the district's math and science institute.

Then, there is the sticky question of which middle school students will be eligible to receive high school credit for algebra.

Students taught by someone other than a licensed math teacher will not be able to receive high school credit for the algebra class. They can, however, take an exam, called "credit by exam," to have it count for high school.

In contrast, students who pass middle school algebra, when taught by a certified math teacher, can get high school credit.

A big plus of the program, Hanlon said, is that middle school algebra will cover the same material as the beginning high school course.

"It will not be a watered-down version," Hanlon said.

Students who fail algebra in middle school will have less of a problem than if they had failed it in high school.

"It's better for students to take it in middle school, when it's not going to hurt them in credits," Garcia said. "Then, they have a better chance of getting ahead. If they get to high school and flunk it, they are going to fall behind in credits."

Between 30 and 45 percent of high school students fail algebra, Hanlon said.

The district is hoping to change that by changing the way algebra is being taught.

"I don't think it's a question of whether kids can learn algebra," said Garcia. "I think it's a question of whether we can teach it in a way that they can learn it."

Garcia dismisses the notion that middle school is too early.

"Everywhere else in the world, they do it," Garcia said.

Michael Carr, a spokesman for the National Association for Secondary School Principals in Reston, Va., said it makes sense to begin algebra in middle school.

Early middle school is often a repeat of skills taught in elementary school, he said.

Although middle school algebra is a growing trend, it is generally being put in place by individual school districts rather than as a mandate handed down by states, Carr said.

"Higher standards are fine, but you need the resources to back them up," he added.

Clark County is backing up its efforts by offering teachers seminars on math instruction.

Hanlon said he wants to meet with teachers to go over material that is being taught and what classroom tests should cover. And he wants to make sure that teaching is uniform in all classes.

The ultimate test faced by high school students is the Proficiency Exam.

A course in algebra is not required for graduation, but students will be faced with algebra problems on the High School Proficiency Exam, which they must pass to graduate.

Hanlon said sophomores should be given a practice proficiency exam -- one designed by the state for that purpose -- before they take the actual exam as juniors.

"Based on the results, there should be added instruction in any areas of deficiency," Hanlon said.

Roxy Valladares, a junior at Las Vegas High School, said she has struggled with math but probably could be doing better.

"The system needs better teachers," she said. "They know what they are doing and they know the material, it's just the way they put it across. We need more hands-on time and better explanations of it."

Rancho High School junior Reuben D'Silva said teachers will probably be able to deal with middle school students on more of a one-one-one basis.

With the fast pace of high school and often larger classes, individual attention is hard to come by, D'Silva said.

Anticipating critics, Garcia cautions that the results of eighth grade algebra will take time.

"Give us a couple of years to constantly improve what is most important in education, and that is what happens in the classroom," Garcia said. "Everything else is really not that important. Our goals are not to talk a lot about it, but to train people and really improve instruction."