Editorial: Algebra’s importance hasn’t been reduced

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

This week Superintendent Carlos Garcia announced that the Clark County School District would adjust the time frame for how all students will be exposed to algebra. Originally the school district proposed every eighth grade student would complete an algebra course within one year. But the school district is having a change of heart. Instead of compressing the course into a year's time, students may continue taking the course into the following year. The reason for doing so is that teachers and administrators don't believe enough students have the necessary foundation in mathematics to master algebraic concepts at the beginning of eighth grade. Currently 29 percent of eighth-graders take algebra -- a marked improvement over the previous year's rate of 15 percent -- but it's unclear if enough students currently are able to grasp algebraic concepts in just a y ear. Rushing the program along -- for speed's sake -- would have been a mistake.

We are encouraged that Garcia still is committed to the algebra initiative. Administrators say that while the course may be extended, it won't be watered down. Algebra mastery is important, and the fact that students have done poorly on the high school proficiency exam -- roughly 20 percent of that exam incorporates algebraic concepts -- shows that all students should be taking this course work earlier, not later.