Free Republic

Not Ready for Algebra by: Irene Warren, November 04, 2008 A trend shows that elementary and advanced math students have fallen below the national average. The Brown Center on Education Policy hosted an event at the Brookings Institution recently to discuss possible ways to better prepare students to succeed in higher-level math courses. “Algebra in eighth grade was once reserved for the mathematically gifted student” the Brookings Institution noted in an October 2008 events announcement. “From 1990 to 2007, national enrollment in algebra courses soared from 16 percent to more than 30 percent of all eighth graders.” However, proficiency scores...

Judge delays 8th-grade algebra in California schools SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento County judge has agreed to delay a requirement that all California eighth-graders be tested in algebra.

Algebra in eighth grade was once reserved for the mathematically gifted student. In 1990, very few eighth graders, about one out of six, were enrolled in an algebra course. As the decade unfolded, leaders began urging schools to increase that number. President Clinton lamented, “Around the world, middle students are learning algebra and geometry. Here at home, just a quarter of all students take algebra before high school.”1 The administration made enrolling all children in an algebra course by eighth grade a national goal. In a handbook offering advice to middle school students on how to plan for college, U.S....

California will need to spend an additional $3.1 billion to implement the aggressive plan that calls for every student to take algebra in the eighth grade within three years, state Superintendent Jack O'Connell said today. The money is needed to reduce class sizes in middle school, recruit additional math teachers and add increase the amount of time spent teaching math. But lawmakers are still dealing with an enormous state deficit, and there's no sense of where an additional $3.1 billion would come from. The new algebra requirement has enormous support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many in the business community,...

Every California eighth-grader will be tested in algebra -- ready or not -- under a policy approved Wednesday that could make the state the first in the nation to require an upper-level math class before high school. The state Board of Education voted for the change under pressure from federal officials and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who broke months of silence by siding this week with advocates who want algebra to become mandatory in eighth grade within three years. Proponents say the new policy will push school districts to ensure that eighth-graders are ready for the demands of algebra. Critics say...

Einstein rings produced by a galaxy behind the lensing galaxy. The sources are actually extended and that is why one sometimes sees arcs rather than complete rings. Credit: Photo credit: NASA, ESA, and the SLACS Survey team: A. Bolton (Harvard/Smithsonian), S. Burles (MIT), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn), T. Treu (UCSB), and L. Moustakas (JPL/Caltech) The mathematicians were trying to extend an illustrious result in their field, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. The astrophysicists were working on a fundamental problem in their field, the problem of gravitational lensing. That the two groups were in fact working on the same question is...

The rules of algebraic functions do not vary from nation to nation or from state to state. In Indiana and eight other states, the test to measure students’ comprehension of those rules will no longer vary. Yes, it’s a step toward national academic standards. And yes, it makes sense for Indiana students to demonstrate understanding of mathematical concepts that are the same in Bangalore and Bluffton, Newark and New Haven. Indiana is among the first nine states that will participate in end-of-course testing for.......................

The earliest treatise on algebra is the Egyptian Rhind Papyrus (c.1700 BC). But in c.3000 BC Egyptians called it "aha Calculus" because "Aha," "Ahe," or "Ahau" was the name of the second pharaoh of the first dynasty. Meaning mass, quantity, or heap (a pile of many things), it was used as an abstract term for the unknown in an equation. Originally, the word "algebra"-("al" "from Egypt"--"al-Kemit")--meant the reuniting of broken parts and was later defined by the Arabs as "restoration", including "bone setting". Note that Yin and Yang are also about the union of separate parts... Africans found a place...

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney General Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Gonzales said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value....

SANTA CRUZ — A small, embarrassing gaffe by local school officials has spawned a big, controversial movement statewide. Santa Cruz City Schools officials realized this fall they’d failed to inform high school students and staff that, starting with the Class of 2004, pupils needed to pass algebra to graduate. Word of the state requirement sparked panic among the 150 students whose diplomas were in jeopardy, a raft of accelerated algebra classes and, ultimately, forgiveness from the state Board of Education, which approved a one-year reprieve in January. But the story doesn’t end there. To the chagrin of high-standards advocates throughout...

Algebra waivers sought Lodi gets OK; Stockton, Linden still waiting More and more school districts across California are asking the state to waive the algebra requirement for some high school seniors this school year. "The volume is increasing algebraically," said Judy Pinegar, manager of waivers with the state Department of Education. "We're getting tons of calls," she said Monday. So far, the state has granted waivers for Lodi Unified and eight other districts. Others, including Stockton Unified and Linden Unified, are seeking them. The waivers will allow seniors to earn diplomas without having to pass Algebra 1. A 2000 state...