Preparing all Students for Success: A Third Credit of High School Math

The State Board of Education (Board) believes strongly that all students must be prepared to succeed after high school and providing students with a strong math foundation is central to that premise.

In 2007, the Washington State Legislature directed the State Board of Education to increase the high school math graduation requirements from two to three credits (equivalent to three years of high school level math), and to determine the content of the three credits .

In January 2008, the Board released a draft motion that would require all students to complete a third credit of math in Algebra II, beginning with the Class of 2013.

1. The requirement can be completed through an approved career and technical education (CTE) course that aligns with Algebra II standards.
2. Some students may elect an alternative math credit that leads to a specific career goal identified in their High School and Beyond Plan with parent/guardian and counselor approval.

This proposal supports the Board’s vision for the purpose of the high school diploma: to declare that a student is ready for success after high school in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship.

The Board Carefully Examined Data From Various Sources:

1. Listened to significant public input from community and business leaders, teachers, and administrators and held a series of community meetings with parents and educators across the state in fall 2007.
2. Reviewed regional, national and international data, such as looking at math graduation requirements in the other 49 states. Currently, 39 states require 3 credits or more credits of math and 14 states require Algebra II.

Why Algebra II? Preparing Students for Success

1. Students who take Algebra II are more prepared to enter the workforce or postsecondary education, including community and technical college and apprenticeships.
1. A 2005 national study prepared for Achieve found that 68 percent of students who completed Algebra II said they felt extremely or well prepared for work. The study also found that students who complete rigorous math coursework are more likely to graduate from college (source: Hart, 2005).

1. More than half of Washington students go on to 2- or 4-year colleges directly after high school (Washington State Graduate Follow Up Study). Many students graduate unprepared for college level work.
1. In 2006, 45 percent of Washington’s students who went directly from high school to community or technical colleges had to take remedial (pre-college) math classes (Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges),
2. Minority students are disproportionately impacted: about 51 percent of African American and 52 percent of Latino students are required to take math remedial classes (Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges).
3. 84% of Washington residents surveyed in 2007 said remediation is a serious problem (Davis, Hibbits & Midghall for Partnership for Learning, 2007 Washington Survey)
2. Algebra II is a gateway class to postsecondary education and family-wage employment.
   1. To earn a two-year degree at a community college, students must have demonstrated proficiency in Algebra II before they can take a credit bearing math course that counts towards their degree.
   2. All Washington four-year colleges require students to complete Algebra II for admission (Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board).
   3. Based on data compiled by The Associated General Contractors of America, many apprenticeships in the trades require students to master this level of math.
   4. In 2005, 26,000 Washington employers reported they could not find applicants with the math skills needed to fill their entry-level jobs (www.collegeworkready.org).
   5. By 2014, 77 percent of all jobs will require employees to have some postsecondary education (U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics).
3. Studies have shown they aren’t afraid of a challenge.
   1. More than 80 percent of high school graduates feel that they would have worked harder if schools had demanded more of students (Hart, 2005).
   2. National research has shown raising requirements isn’t tied to an increase in the drop-out rate. “High schools that allow students to take more low-level math courses actually have lower graduation rates. Rather than low-level math helping to raise graduation rates, for every two additional math courses offered below the level of algebra, students experienced more than a 30% increase in the odds of dropping out..." (Lee, 2003)

Working Together

1. The Board, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Professional Educator Standards Board will continue to work systemically to improve math education.
2. The Board understands that state policy changes impact local districts and will work on implementation issues.

Board Next Steps

1. Review a draft rule on the third math credit, hold a public meeting, and receive consultant recommendations on course content for the three math graduation credit requirements at the March Board meeting.
2. Examine implementation issues with Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Professional Educator Standards Board.
3. Review public comment, revise the rule, if needed, and adopt the rule at the May Board meeting.

Food For Thought

"High school graduates need the opportunity to learn high-level math skills that apply to hands-on learning through the trades as well as in a traditional classroom setting in order to enter and be successful in both job training programs and transfer programs at the community and technical colleges. These options will help many more Washington students make successful and smooth transitions and have more opportunities available to them when they get there.“
-Erin Mundinger, chair of the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges; January 2008

“Strengthening our graduation requirements provides access to rigorous courses for all students, and is the surest way to guarantee equity in our schools. Since most certificate and degree programs in Washington require Algebra II, we urge [the Board] to align the third year to this level of rigor to reduce remediation rates. We encourage you to take action that will ensure all students are given the opportunities they deserve.”
-Kevin Washington, Education & Internal Development Chair, Tabor 100, an association of African American businesspeople and entrepreneurs, January 2008

For Further Reading, Please Visit the Following Studies:

1. Ready for college and ready for work: Same or different? ACT Issue Brief, 2006
2. “The kiss of death? An alternative view of college remediation.” By Clifford Adelman (Summer, 1998). National Crosstalk, 6(3).
3. The tool box revisited, by Clifford Adelman. Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 2006.
4. “Educational reform and disadvantaged students: Are they better off or worse off?” by J.H. Bishop and F. Mane. (2004) Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies: working paper series.
5. “Dropping out of high school: The role of school organization and structure,” By Lee, V. E. & Bukam, D. T. (2003). American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 353-393. www.centerforpubliceducation.org/
6. “High school mathematics: State-level curriculum standards and graduation requirements,” by B.J. Reys et. al., (April, 2007) Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum.
7. “Rising to the challenge: Are high school graduates prepared for college and work?” by Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies, prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
8. “Public High school Graduation and College-Readiness Rates 1991-2002,” by Jay F. Greene. Manhattan Institute. February 2005.
9. “Dropping out of high school: The role of school organization and structure.” By V. E. Lee & D. T. Bukam, (2003). American Educational Research Journal.
10. “A Role of pre-college education for recent high school graduates,” Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges research report 07-02, December 2007.
11. Third math credit update, prepared for the Washington State Board of Education by Linda Plattner, Strategic Teaching, January 2008.
12. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), a national construction trade association in the United States. Web site: http://www.agc.org.