Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students

Regional need and study purpose. Eighth graders who take algebra I—a well documented gateway course—are more likely to participate in advanced mathematics courses in high school. Yet more than 10 years after the U.S. Department of Education recommended expanding access to algebra I in middle schools, schools throughout the Northeast and Islands Region and the rest of the country are delivering algebra courses to only a small proportion of their eighth graders. This study investigates the use of an online course to expand access to algebra I to students in grade 8 who are ready to take the course but unable to do so because their schools do not offer algebra I to eighth graders (often because the schools are small or located in rural areas).

Intervention description. The online algebra I course examined in this study was developed by teams from the University of Nebraska funded by a 1996 U.S. Department of Education Star Schools grant. The course, offered in the study to grade 8 students in randomly assigned schools in Maine and Vermont, is consistent with the mathematics content standards in Maine and Vermont and contains the same instructional components as a traditional class: defined learning objectives, curriculum materials, assignments, problem sets, quizzes, tests, and grades. The online teacher presents information, assigns problems, provides feedback, assesses students' learning, responds to their questions, and monitors and guides their progress. Students are expected to follow a schedule in completing each lesson and to prepare for quizzes and tests as scheduled.

Study design and period. Seventy schools were recruited (50 in Maine, 20 in Vermont) that together served 2,030 eighth graders during the 2008/09 school year. Schools identified students that were algebra-ready in spring 2008, and as of fall 2008 there were 456 algebra-ready students in participating schools. Schools were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: implementing the online algebra I course by offering it to their algebra-ready students (the intervention condition) or not (the control condition) during 2008/09. Schools in the control condition implemented their typical mathematics programs for eighth graders.

Key outcomes and measures. The outcomes for this study are end of grade 8 algebra and general mathematics achievement scores and early high school (grades 9 and 10) mathematics course-taking. Algebra and general mathematics achievement were measured with a web-based computer adaptive assessment that yielded scores for algebra achievement and for general mathematics achievement. Students' planned grade 9 mathematics courses will be categorized as above the level of algebra I or at/below the level of algebra I. A final measure of high school course-taking will categorize algebra-ready students' course-taking patterns as "advanced" or not. In addition, school, student, and teacher contextual information was collected, and implementation fidelity and classroom instruction were evaluated using classroom observations.

Data collection approach. Most of the data for this study were collected electronically from the study schools—including the pretest and posttest scores and end of grade 8 student and teacher surveys. Administrative data (including prior mathematics achievement test scores and student and school demographics) were collected from state departments of education and local districts. Initial high school course-taking data (planned grade 9 courses) were collected from participating middle schools. The follow-up high school course-taking data will be collected from the algebra-ready students' high schools.

Analysis plan. The impact of online algebra will be assessed by comparing mathematics achievement and early high school course-taking outcomes for students from schools that offered the online course with those of students from schools that did not. Analyses will be conducted separately for algebra-ready students and students who were not identified by their schools as ready for algebra. Impacts will be estimated using two-level random effects hierarchical linear models in which students are level 1 and schools are level 2. The basic analytical model will capture the difference in student outcomes between intervention schools and control schools, adjusting for student pretest scores, student characteristics (poverty status, special education status), and school characteristics (state, school size).

Principal investigators. Margaret Clements, PhD, Education Development Center, and Teresa Duncan, PhD, American Institutes for Research.

Additional Information. Region, contact information, and references.

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