Outcomes
Some things to keep in mind about
these Algebra analyses
The following caveats should be noted for these analyses.
- First, as designed, all High School Algebra in the Middle Grades students should take this assessment, and only students who both took the course and met the Proficiency cutoff on the assessment should be allowed to enroll in Geometry or higher in ninth grade. In practice, however, the data for the first year of the program (06-07) indicate that some students enroll in higher level mathematics courses despite not scoring a Proficient on the assessment, as well as the existence of some Proficient students who enroll in Algebra again in ninth grade. This anomaly seemed to be addressed more explicitly by program planners in subsequent years of the program.
- Second, during the 2006-07 school year this program was offered only at selected schools and only to selected students. Therefore, in examining whether High School Algebra in the Middle Grades better prepares students for their ninth grade mathematics courses, the researchers accounted for differences between the students who were selected for High School Algebra in the Middle Grades and those who were not.
- Third, although the researchers were interested in both the impact of participation in the program and proficiency on the exam, in this first year they were unable to determine with confidence, due to limitations in the district’s student course information for elementary students, which students participated in a High School Algebra in the Middle Grades course. Therefore, they utilized participation in the algebra exam as a proxy for participation in the program.
- Finally, although the researchers were interested in the impact of teachers on these outcomes, only teacher data were available for students who participated in the exam. Therefore, they could not compare the qualifications of teachers between participants and non-participants.
