by Todd Truitt

Virginia’s new accountability system incentivizes schools to provide valuable middle-school math pathways, resulting in more opportunities for Virginia students, especially the most underprivileged. It will also counter the non-evidence-based, anti-acceleration ideology of certain discredited thought leaders in K-12 math education who have had a corrosive effect on Virginia K-12 math education.

Why Algebra in Middle School Is Civil Rights Issue

Civil rights leader Bob Moses referred to the ability to accelerate in math (i.e. go above grade level) in order to take Algebra in middle school as a civil right. It has been a longstanding goal of the US Department of Education and civil rights organizations. Nationally, middle schools that are not offering Algebra disproportionately serve lower income and underrepresented minority students.

As explained by Stanford University Math Professor, and Director of Undergraduate Math Studies, Brian Conrad:

“A solid grounding in math from high school—which traditionally has included two years of algebra, a year of geometry, and then, for more advanced students, other coursework leading up to calculus [and beyond]—is a prerequisite for a four-year college degree in data science, computer science, economics, and other quantitative fields. Such a degree is, in turn, the price of entry for jobs not only in the sciences and Silicon Valley but also in a number of seemingly distant fields. …

The students who are most reliant upon public schools are the most harmed when districts embrace policies based on superficial appeals to equity or false promises about future job opportunities. When only the children of families with resources beyond the public schools are gaining preparation for the lucrative degrees and securing jobs of the future, public education is failing in a primary duty.”

Accountability Systems, Advanced Coursework and Civil Rights

The 2015 U.S. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) governs state accountability systems and provides an advanced coursework factor as one of the few optional accountability factor examples. Notably, Virginia Democratic Representative Bobby Scott was one of four co-authors of ESSA, and every member of the Virginia Congressional delegation voted for ESSA except then-Republican Representative Dave Brat.

Accountability factors for advanced coursework are not meant to shame schools for failing to offer such classes, but to provide carrots to offer these crucial civil rights opportunities. And if a school is not able or willing to offer such classes, accountability systems elevate such a civil rights issue to a community-level discussion (instead of closed-door and/or coded language conversations by school administrators and school boards).

New Middle School Advanced Coursework Acceleration Factor

As described by national accountability expert Chad Aldeman:

As part of its redesigned school performance and support framework, last month Virginia adopted a new math acceleration indicator which will nudge schools to enroll more middle school students in advanced math courses. …

It starts by looking at student performance. Which students are ready to succeed in advanced math courses? The ones who already do well on math tests.

This “ready students” measure uses a unique denominator to recognize students with the potential to succeed in advanced high school mathematics in grade 8. “Ready students” will include any middle school student in grades 6-8 who is already taking a high school-level math class, plus any grade 8 student who scored advanced on the grade 7 math test in the prior year. In this way, it only expects schools to accelerate students who have clearly demonstrated that they are ready for advanced math coursework. …

To maximize their points on this new indicator, Virginia middle schools will have to make sure that students who are performing well—regardless of their race or income or gender—have access to advanced math opportunities.

Virginia’s 2021 Proposal to Eliminate Algebra in Middle School Based on Anti-Acceleration Ideology

As I previously covered, the Virginia Department of Education proposed the paradoxically-named Virginia Math Pathways Initiative (VMPI) in 2021 that would have, among other things, eliminated honors math courses and “drastically [reduced] the need for” or “eliminate[d]” math acceleration of Virginia public school students, thereby keeping them in the same math class until the 11th grade (i.e., reducing pathways). VMPI’s detracking proposal was based on the ideas of the controversial Stanford Education Professor Jo Boaler and the “Algebra for None” program of San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

After major public pushback, Virginia “clarified” school districts would still be able to offer acceleration and honors classes (such clarification did not detail if that included Algebra I in 7th grade). Based on several factors, including evidence that certain Democratic voters switched to Glenn Youngkin to oppose VMPI (a prelude to the crushing 2024 Algebra referendum vote in San Francisco), Youngkin killed VMPI upon taking office in early 2022.

A SFUSD parent group found in 2021 that SFUSD and Boaler significantly misrepresented SFUSD’s preliminary data on its “Algebra for None” program. In March 2023, a study by professors from Stanford University confirmed that SFUSD’s preliminary data had been misrepresented, and its program actually resulted in fewer students taking higher level math in high school.

Incentivizing Virginia Schools to Offer Algebra in 7th Grade to Counter Anti-Acceleration Ideology

Algebra in 7th grade for kids who are ready is beneficial to not only provide them with the proper challenge, but also for broader access to opportunities. For instance, a Virginia child who takes 7th grade Algebra is on a path to possibly earn 15 credit hours in math at Virginia Tech or other public universities by high school graduation at nearly no financial cost. Still, only 59% of Virginia school districts had a 7th grader taking a state Algebra or higher standardized exam, whereas 96% of Virginia middle schools had at least one 8th grader passing such an exam in the 2022-23 school year.

Anti-acceleration ideology advocates often cite Stanford Education Professor Boaler for why school districts should eliminate Algebra in 7th grade. Boaler claims that many students who take Algebra in 7th grade or earlier drop out of math by 12th grade. But she in fact cites only her own opinion and the opinion of an ideologically aligned math professor. (Note: Boaler faced widespread public scrutiny for the use of countless false and misleading citations in the 2023 California Math Framework.)

Moreover, the largest organization of Virginia K-12 math leaders, the Virginia Council for Math Supervision (who vociferously supported VMPI), made anti-acceleration ideological claims similar to Boaler with similarly misleading citations in its letter opposing the pro-acceleration provisions in the 2023 Virginia Math Standards of Learning. For example, the paper cited actually supports appropriate acceleration while illogically claiming that the failure of accelerating every child into Algebra by 8th grade (even if not ready) is the reason to not support 7th grade Algebra for kids who are ready.

Conversely, civil rights leader Moses advocated against “put[ting] constraints or limits on what any group of children might learn” in math. And Stanford Math Professor Conrad told me he’s seen the positive results firsthand when public schools do not limit such opportunities:

“A student leader in the National Society of Black Engineers had access to Algebra 1 in 7th grade, and she attributed this early access to future opportunities such as more advanced internships during college and better preparation for her admission to top PhD programs in engineering. That is real equity in public education for math.“

In fact, Arlington Public Schools (APS) found almost all APS kids who took Algebra in 7th grade took math through 12th grade. Furthermore, a secondary math supervisor for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) did a longitudinal study (presumably of FCPS) and found kids who took Algebra in 7th grade (a) took more high school math classes than those who took Algebra in 8th grade, and (b) took math in the 12th grade at a higher rate than those who took Algebra in 8th grade. 

Nonetheless, this FCPS supervisor, a leader of VMPI and citing Boaler, used a Boaler-esque double standard to disregard such positive results. For instance, those who took Algebra in 7th grade were defined to have achieved at a lesser level in math for taking AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics vs. those who took Algebra in 8th grade for taking the same classes. And contrary to the results of her study, the same FCPS supervisor said in an FCPS video in March 2024 that kids accessing Algebra before 8th grade often drop out of math by 10th or 11th grade. Notably, the rate of FCPS 7th graders taking Algebra for the 2023-24 school year was almost half of the rate of 7th graders in Loudoun County Public Schools.

And despite the lack of evidence, recently Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) quietly eliminated its pathway for Algebra in 7th grade. Meanwhile, ACPS ironically claims the new accountability system should be delayed for additional testing (a 3-year development and implementation period is supposedly “rushed”).

Democratic ACPS parent Willow Darsie stated:

“The accountability framework is a lifeline for parents yearning for transparency and struggling with opaque and misguided decisions like ACPS’s abrupt elimination of its long-standing accelerated math pathway. It is not too late for ACPS to reintroduce and even expand Algebra for 7th graders, and I am hopeful the middle school math incentive can help all Virginia districts see the merits of offering students varied math options while spotlighting the vital role public schools play in building onramps to challenging and rewarding careers in STEM.”    

Todd Truitt is a parent of two school-age children in Arlington County, Virginia. He is also the former Chair of the Math Advisory Committee for Arlington Public Schools and active in the Arlington Democrats.  He is a business transactions attorney and a Certified Public Accountant.