Algebra for Everyone? Benefits of College-Preparatory Mathematics for Students With Diverse Abilities in Early Secondary School

Abstract

Both the research literature and the experiences of many educators indicate that unequal access to academic curricula produces inequities in student learning of mathematics. "Algebra for everyone" has become a popular slogan of reform in response to these inequalities. Do all students benefit from taking algebra, regardless of their prior math performance? If so, then systems that track students away from algebra are preventing students from realizing their potential for learning. This study uses national survey data to examine the impact of high school algebra among students who differ in their math skills prior to entering high school. Regression analysis with over 12,500 students indicates that all students benefit from taking algebra; among those with very low prior achievement, the benefits are somewhat smaller, but algebra is still worthwhile for all students. These results do not derive from unwarranted extrapolation, and they are not an artifact of ceiling effects. The analysis suggests that a given student who has not taken algebra would have achieved more by doing so, but it does not say what would happen if the whole system were changed to include all students in high school algebra. However, additional analysis indicates that students gain no less from algebra when their schools include more diverse populations of algebra-takers, compared to schools with more homogeneous populations of students taking algebra.