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

For report NCEE 2012-4021 Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/rct_231.asp?section=region

This data file contains data from a cluster randomized control trial designed to inform the decisions of policymakers who are considering using online courses to provide access to Algebra I in grade 8. The study indicates that offering Algebra I as an online course significantly affected students' algebra achievement at the end of grade 8 and increased their likelihood of participating in an advanced coursetaking sequence in high school. The first analytic sample included 440 algebra ready students who attended the participating schools in Maine and Vermont as grade 8 students in 2008/09 (218 in treatment schools, 222 in control schools). Of the 218 algebra ready students who attended treatment schools, 211 (97%) enrolled in the online Algebra I course. The second analytic sample included 1,445 non-algebra ready students (744 in treatment schools, 701 in control schools) who were in grade 8 in 2008/09.