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class="post_tag"><span><a href="https://www.the74million.org/category/analysis/">Analysis</a></span></div> </div> <h1 class="headline">Three Reasons Why So Few Eighth Graders in the Poorest Schools Take Algebra</h1> <h2 class="subtitle">Surveys find access to algebra is only one problem in schools where teaching quality is ‘less optimal.’</h2> <figure class=""> <img width="1200" height="720" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="a math worksheet with algebra problems" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores.jpg 1200w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores-300x180.jpg 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores-825x495.jpg 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores-215x129.jpg 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores-768x461.jpg 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores-232x139.jpg 232w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="article_body"> <div class="byline"> <address class="author"> By <a rel="author" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/567999/">Jill Barshay</a> </address> <time pubdate datetime="2024-11-22" title="November 22, 2024">November 22, 2024</time><br/> <span class="republished_credit">From <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-eighth-grade-algebra/">The Hechinger Report</a></span> </div> <div class="single_share"> <ul> <li><a class="icon-social twitter" 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data-flip-widget="shareflip" ><img src="https://cdn.flipboard.com/badges/flipboard_mbsw.png" /></a><script src="https://cdn.flipboard.com/web/buttons/js/flbuttons.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script></li> <li><a class="icon-social mailto" href="mailto:?body=https://www.the74million.org/article/three-reasons-why-so-few-eighth-graders-in-the-poorest-schools-take-algebra/&subject=From The 74" target="_blank" title="E-mail this story"></a></li> <li><a class="icon-social republish" href="#" onclick="t74_show_republish_box();" target="_blank" title="Republish this story"></a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="grid"> <div class="article_sidebar sidebar desktop"> <div id="newsletter_signup"> <div> <figure> <img src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/themes/T74v2/images/head-in-clouds-250x260.gif);"> </figure> <span> <h5 class="response response_content sans">Untangle Your Mind!</h5> <p>Sign up for our free newsletter and start your day with in-depth reporting on the latest topics in 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Teachers Don’t Use the High-Quality Instructional Materials They’re Given</h5> </a> </li> <li data-count="14691"> <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/at-special-ed-teacher-shortage-hearing-panelists-debate-dismantling-ed-dept/"> <span class="cat">teacher workforce</span> <h5>At Special Ed Teacher Shortage Hearing, Panelists Debate Dismantling Ed Dept.</h5> </a> </li> <li data-count="11122"> <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/feds-charge-once-lauded-allhere-ai-founder-in-10m-scheme-to-defraud-investors/"> <span class="cat">Artificial Intelligence</span> <h5>Feds Charge Once-Lauded AllHere AI Founder in $10M Scheme to Defraud Investors</h5> </a> </li> <li data-count="7181"> <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/what-happens-when-large-numbers-of-teachers-quit-a-school-and-what-can-be-done/"> <span class="cat">Analysis</span> <h5>What Happens When Large Numbers of Teachers Quit a School? And What Can Be Done?</h5> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="article_content">  <span class="cta_snippet"><p><em>Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. </em><a class="arrow" href="https://www.the74million.org/about/newsletters/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=top&utm_id=newsletter"><strong>Sign up for The 74 Newsletter</strong></a></p></span>  <p>Like learning to read by third grade, taking eighth grade math is a pivotal moment in a child’s education. Students who pass Algebra 1 in eighth grade are more likely to sign up for more advanced math courses, and those who pass more advanced math courses are more likely to graduate from college and earn more money. “Algebra in eighth grade is a gateway to a lot of further opportunities,” said Dan Goldhaber, an economist who studies education at the American Institutes for Research, in a recent webinar.</p> <p>Researchers are trying to understand why so few Black and Hispanic students and low-income students of all races are making it through this early gate. While 25 percent of white students passed algebra in eighth  grade in 2021, only 13 percent of Black students did, according to the most recent <a href="https://civilrightsdata.ed.gov/">data from the U.S. Department of Education</a>.</p> <p>A collection of surveys of teachers and principals, conducted by the research organization RAND, suggests three problems at the poorest middle schools, which are disproportionately populated with Black and Hispanic students. Many don’t offer algebra at all. Their teachers have less training and math expertise, and they describe how they spend classroom time differently than teachers do at wealthier schools. That means the most advanced students at many middle schools in poor communities don’t have the opportunity to learn algebra, and many students at high-poverty schools aren’t receiving the kind of math lessons that could help them get ready for the subject. </p> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/equity-builder-or-racial-barrier-debate-rages-over-role-of-8th-grade-algebra/"><figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/high-school-algebra-5-1.jpg);"></figure><div><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span><h4 class="sans">Equity Builder or Racial Barrier: Debate Rages Over Role of 8th-Grade Algebra</h4></div></a></aside> <p>In 2023 and 2024, RAND surveyed more than 3,000 school principals and almost 1,000 math teachers across the country. The educators are part of a specially constructed national sample, designed to reflect all public schools and the demographics of the U.S. student population. A <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA3554-1.html">working paper</a> analyzing some of the survey findings was released in October 2024. (<em>That analysis was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is among the many funders of The Hechinger Report</em>.)</p> <p>The poorest 25 percent of schools had vastly different course offerings and teachers than the wealthiest 25 percent. Most strikingly, nearly a quarter of the highest poverty schools didn’t offer algebra at all to any eighth graders, compared with only 6 percent of the wealthiest schools. </p> <p>Conversely, poor schools are much less likely to adopt an algebra-for-all policy in eighth grade. Nearly half of the wealthiest schools offered algebra to all of their eighth grade students, regardless of math ability, compared with about a third of the poorest schools. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1574" height="852" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735747" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png 1574w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-300x162.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-825x447.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-215x116.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-768x416.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1536x831.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1574px) 100vw, 1574px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>Math teachers at high-poverty schools tended to have weaker professional preparation. They were far more likely to have entered the profession without first earning a traditional education degree at a college or university, instead completing an alternative certification program on the job, often without student teaching under supervision. And they were less likely to have a graduate degree or hold a mathematics credential. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1560" height="856" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735748" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png 1560w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-300x165.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-825x453.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-215x118.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-768x421.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-1536x843.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>In surveys, a third of math teachers at high-poverty schools reported that they spent more than half of class time teaching topics that were below grade level, as well as managing student behavior and disciplining students. Lecture-style instruction, as opposed to classroom discussion, was far more common at the poorest schools compared to the wealthiest schools. RAND researchers also detected similar discrepancies in instructional patterns when they examined schools along racial and ethnic lines, with Black and Hispanic students receiving “less optimal” instruction than white students. But these discrepancies were stronger by income than by race, suggesting that poverty may be a bigger factor than bias.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1560" height="864" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735750" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2.png 1560w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-300x166.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-825x457.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-215x119.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-768x425.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-1536x851.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>Many communities have tried putting more eighth graders into algebra classes, but that has sometimes left unprepared students worse off.  “Simply giving them an eighth grade algebra course is not a magic bullet,” said AIR’s Goldhaber, who commented on the RAND analysis during a Nov. 5 <a href="https://www.rand.org/events/2024/11/racial-and-socioeconomic-divides-in-algebra-teaching-and-learning/invite.html">webinar</a>. Either the material is too challenging and the students fail or the course was “algebra” in name only and didn’t really cover the content. And without a college preparatory track of advanced math classes to take after algebra, the benefits of taking Algebra 1 in eighth grade are unlikely to accrue.</p> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/san-fran-voters-overwhelmingly-support-algebras-return-to-8th-grade/"><figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/san-francisco-algebra.jpg);"></figure><div><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span><h4 class="sans">San Francisco Voters Overwhelmingly Support Algebra’s Return to 8th Grade</h4></div></a></aside> <p>It’s also not economically practical for many low-income middle schools to offer an Algebra 1 course when only a handful of students are advanced enough to take it. A teacher would have to be hired even for a few students and those resources might be more effectively spent on something else that would benefit more students. That puts the most advanced students at low-income schools at a particular disadvantage. “It’s a difficult issue for schools to tackle on their own,” said Goldhaber. </p> <p>Improving math teacher quality at the poorest schools is a critical first step. Some researchers have suggested paying strong math teachers more to work at high-poverty schools, but that would also require the renegotiation of union contracts in many cities. And, even with financial incentives, there is a shortage of math teachers. </p> <p>For students, AIR’s Goldhaber argues the time to intervene in math is in elementary school to make sure more low-income students have strong basic math skills. “Do it before middle school,” said Goldhaber. “For many students, middle school is too late.”</p> <p><em><a href="https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-eighth-grade-algebra/">This story was originally published by The Hechinger Report.</a></em></p>   <span class="cta_snippet ft"><p><em>Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. </em><a class="arrow" href="https://www.the74million.org/about/newsletters/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=top&utm_id=newsletter"><strong>Sign up for The 74 Newsletter</strong></a></p></span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article_footer grid"> <div class="single_share"> <ul> <li><a class="icon-social twitter" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.the74million.org/article/three-reasons-why-so-few-eighth-graders-in-the-poorest-schools-take-algebra/&text=Three+Reasons+Why+So+Few+Eighth+Graders+in+the+Poorest+Schools+Take+Algebra @The74" target="_blank" title="Share this story on X"></a></li> <li><a class="icon-social facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.the74million.org/article/three-reasons-why-so-few-eighth-graders-in-the-poorest-schools-take-algebra/" target="_blank" title="Share this story on Facebook"></a></li> <li><a class="icon-social bluesky" href="https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Three+Reasons+Why+So+Few+Eighth+Graders+in+the+Poorest+Schools+Take+Algebra%21%20https://www.the74million.org/article/three-reasons-why-so-few-eighth-graders-in-the-poorest-schools-take-algebra/" target="_blank" title="Share this story on BlueSky Social" ></a></li> <li><a class="icon-social flipboard" href="https://flipboard.com" data-flip-widget="shareflip" ><img src="https://cdn.flipboard.com/badges/flipboard_mbsw.png" /></a><script src="https://cdn.flipboard.com/web/buttons/js/flbuttons.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script></li> <li><a class="icon-social mailto" href="mailto:?body=https://www.the74million.org/article/three-reasons-why-so-few-eighth-graders-in-the-poorest-schools-take-algebra/&subject=From The 74" target="_blank" title="E-mail this story"></a></li> <li><a class="icon-social republish" href="#" onclick="t74_show_republish_box();" target="_blank" title="Republish this story"></a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="author_profile"> <address class="no_image"> <p><a class="author_inline_link" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/567999/">Jill Barshay</a> is a staff writer and editor at The Hechinger Report, where she writes the weekly “Proof Points” column about education research and data.</p> </address> </div> <div class="article_tags desktop"> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/algebra/">algebra</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/analysis/">analysis</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/eighth-grade/">eighth grade</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/equity/">equity</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/low-income-students-2/">low income students</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/math/">math</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.the74million.org/tag/math-equity/">math equity</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </article>  <div id="republish-box" data-postid=735743 data-gaid="UA-64416702-1" data-ga4id="G-YQBR2DBZ9Z"> <div> <span class="sans">Republish This Article</span> <p><i>We want our stories to be shared as widely as possible — for free.</i></p> <p><a style="color:white" href="/republish/"><i>Please view The 74's republishing terms.</i></a></p><br/><br/> <textarea id="repub_content" class="text-scroller" readonly> <h1>Three Reasons Why So Few Eighth Graders in the Poorest Schools Take Algebra</h1> <h2>Surveys find access to algebra is only one problem in schools where teaching quality is ‘less optimal.’</h2> <p class="sans">By <a rel="author" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/567999/">Jill Barshay</a></p> <img src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/texas-8th-grade-algebra-test-scores.jpg"> <p>This story first appeared at <a href="https://www.the74million.org">The 74</a>, a nonprofit news site covering education. <a href="https://www.the74million.org/about/newsletters/?utm_source=republish-button&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=republish">Sign up for free newsletters from The 74</a> to get more like this in your inbox.</p> <p>Like learning to read by third grade, taking eighth grade math is a pivotal moment in a child’s education. Students who pass Algebra 1 in eighth grade are more likely to sign up for more advanced math courses, and those who pass more advanced math courses are more likely to graduate from college and earn more money. “Algebra in eighth grade is a gateway to a lot of further opportunities,” said Dan Goldhaber, an economist who studies education at the American Institutes for Research, in a recent webinar.</p> <p>Researchers are trying to understand why so few Black and Hispanic students and low-income students of all races are making it through this early gate. While 25 percent of white students passed algebra in eighth  grade in 2021, only 13 percent of Black students did, according to the most recent <a href="https://civilrightsdata.ed.gov/">data from the U.S. Department of Education</a>.</p> <p>A collection of surveys of teachers and principals, conducted by the research organization RAND, suggests three problems at the poorest middle schools, which are disproportionately populated with Black and Hispanic students. Many don’t offer algebra at all. Their teachers have less training and math expertise, and they describe how they spend classroom time differently than teachers do at wealthier schools. That means the most advanced students at many middle schools in poor communities don’t have the opportunity to learn algebra, and many students at high-poverty schools aren’t receiving the kind of math lessons that could help them get ready for the subject. </p> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/equity-builder-or-racial-barrier-debate-rages-over-role-of-8th-grade-algebra/"><figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/high-school-algebra-5-1.jpg);"></figure><div><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span><h4 class="sans">Equity Builder or Racial Barrier: Debate Rages Over Role of 8th-Grade Algebra</h4></div></a></aside> <p>In 2023 and 2024, RAND surveyed more than 3,000 school principals and almost 1,000 math teachers across the country. The educators are part of a specially constructed national sample, designed to reflect all public schools and the demographics of the U.S. student population. A <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA3554-1.html">working paper</a> analyzing some of the survey findings was released in October 2024. (<em>That analysis was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is among the many funders of The Hechinger Report</em>.)</p> <p>The poorest 25 percent of schools had vastly different course offerings and teachers than the wealthiest 25 percent. Most strikingly, nearly a quarter of the highest poverty schools didn’t offer algebra at all to any eighth graders, compared with only 6 percent of the wealthiest schools. </p> <p>Conversely, poor schools are much less likely to adopt an algebra-for-all policy in eighth grade. Nearly half of the wealthiest schools offered algebra to all of their eighth grade students, regardless of math ability, compared with about a third of the poorest schools. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1574" height="852" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735747" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed.png 1574w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-300x162.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-825x447.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-215x116.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-768x416.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1536x831.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1574px) 100vw, 1574px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>Math teachers at high-poverty schools tended to have weaker professional preparation. They were far more likely to have entered the profession without first earning a traditional education degree at a college or university, instead completing an alternative certification program on the job, often without student teaching under supervision. And they were less likely to have a graduate degree or hold a mathematics credential. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1560" height="856" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735748" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1.png 1560w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-300x165.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-825x453.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-215x118.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-768x421.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-1-1536x843.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>In surveys, a third of math teachers at high-poverty schools reported that they spent more than half of class time teaching topics that were below grade level, as well as managing student behavior and disciplining students. Lecture-style instruction, as opposed to classroom discussion, was far more common at the poorest schools compared to the wealthiest schools. RAND researchers also detected similar discrepancies in instructional patterns when they examined schools along racial and ethnic lines, with Black and Hispanic students receiving “less optimal” instruction than white students. But these discrepancies were stronger by income than by race, suggesting that poverty may be a bigger factor than bias.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1560" height="864" src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-735750" srcset="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2.png 1560w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-300x166.png 300w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-825x457.png 825w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-215x119.png 215w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-768x425.png 768w, https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/unnamed-2-1536x851.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slide from a RAND webinar, “Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning,” presented in November 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>Many communities have tried putting more eighth graders into algebra classes, but that has sometimes left unprepared students worse off.  “Simply giving them an eighth grade algebra course is not a magic bullet,” said AIR’s Goldhaber, who commented on the RAND analysis during a Nov. 5 <a href="https://www.rand.org/events/2024/11/racial-and-socioeconomic-divides-in-algebra-teaching-and-learning/invite.html">webinar</a>. Either the material is too challenging and the students fail or the course was “algebra” in name only and didn’t really cover the content. And without a college preparatory track of advanced math classes to take after algebra, the benefits of taking Algebra 1 in eighth grade are unlikely to accrue.</p> <aside class="inline_story shortcode simple"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/san-fran-voters-overwhelmingly-support-algebras-return-to-8th-grade/"><figure style="background-image: url(https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/san-francisco-algebra.jpg);"></figure><div><span class="sans related_tag">Related</span><h4 class="sans">San Francisco Voters Overwhelmingly Support Algebra’s Return to 8th Grade</h4></div></a></aside> <p>It’s also not economically practical for many low-income middle schools to offer an Algebra 1 course when only a handful of students are advanced enough to take it. A teacher would have to be hired even for a few students and those resources might be more effectively spent on something else that would benefit more students. That puts the most advanced students at low-income schools at a particular disadvantage. “It’s a difficult issue for schools to tackle on their own,” said Goldhaber. </p> <p>Improving math teacher quality at the poorest schools is a critical first step. Some researchers have suggested paying strong math teachers more to work at high-poverty schools, but that would also require the renegotiation of union contracts in many cities. And, even with financial incentives, there is a shortage of math teachers. </p> <p>For students, AIR’s Goldhaber argues the time to intervene in math is in elementary school to make sure more low-income students have strong basic math skills. “Do it before middle school,” said Goldhaber. “For many students, middle school is too late.”</p> <p><em><a href="https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-eighth-grade-algebra/">This story was originally published by The Hechinger Report.</a></em></p> </textarea><br/> <button onclick="t74_copyContents('repub_content')">Copy HTML</button><br/> </div> <div id="repub-overlay" onclick="t74_show_republish_box();"></div> </div>  <div id="frontpage-repeat"> <div class="wrap"> <section id="category" class="capped"> <h2>On The 74 Today</h2> </section> </div> <div id="frontpage-repeat-container"></div> </div> </div>  <footer> <div class="sub_navigation wrap grid"> <nav class="sn_sections"> <h3>Sections</h3> <div 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