The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning has released a new report showing that Gov. Schwarzenegger and the State Board of Education may have failed to fully consider the ramifications of the new Algebra 1 requirement for all eighth graders.
Certainly, the facts were all there for them to see, long before the decision they reached earlier this month. Three years ago, the CFTL recommended increasing the number of qualified algebra teachers for middle schoolers before moving the requirement for Algebra 1 from ninth grade to eighth. Otherwise, the CFTL said, the state would “face some serious challenges” in such a move.
“California’s Approach to Math Instruction Still Doesn’t Add Up” does not discount the need for improving student achievement in mathematics, noting that 78 percent of the state’s students scored below proficiency in Algebra 1 on the 2007 California Standards Tests and approximately one-quarter of 10th graders failed the math portion of the California High School Exit Exam.
Yet, the report goes on to show, more middle school students than ever before are being taught Algebra 1 by an underprepared or out-of-field teacher. Currently, close to one-third of middle school Algebra 1 teachers do not have a subject matter credential in math.
Adding to the dilemma, the CFTL notes that middle schools are experiencing an enrollment boom that is expected to continue for at least another year. But once the boom passes middle schools it will not solve the problem, since the boom will then pass on to high schools, increasing the demand for qualified teachers there, where schools face their own shortage of qualified teachers already. Factor in the expected wave of teacher retirements over the next ten years and there is a potential for some real problems down the line. Although the CFTL acknowledges that concern over students’ ability to meet state and federal standards in math is justified, policymakers need to face up to the dearth of qualified teachers for the subject.
“In short, not only are middle and high school students in desperate need of high quality mathematics teachers, the state’s existing professional development programs that might serve to boost teachers’ knowledge and skill in this area still are not targeted or designed to do so,” the report states. “Because Algebra 1 is so critically important to students’ long-term success in mathematics, the state should set as a high priority that every middle school student in California be taught by a well-prepared and effective Algebra 1 teacher.”
The report stated the CFTL “strongly urges California’s governor and Legislature to commit the necessary resources to build the capacity of the teacher workforce to meet this demand. This means putting into place the infrastructure necessary to produce an adequate number of knowledgeable and effective teachers of mathematics, place them where they are needed most, and provide the materials they need to do the job well. Further, commitment to deepening subject matter content knowledge and pedagogical skill is required for those Algebra 1 teachers already hired, yet assigned out-of-field in the area of mathematics.”
The report can be accessed at www.cftl.org/centerviews/july08.pdf.