Grade 9 Math Placement: A Family Guide and School Decisionmaking Template

Course placement decisions shape students’ early high school math experiences and their options for advanced math in high school. When students take Algebra I in grade 8, schools must decide whether they will repeat Algebra I in grade 9 or move on to other math courses. Some students repeat Algebra I in high school even after passing it in middle school, which can limit how opportunities to take more advanced math courses later in high school. 

Related Research

REL Northwest studied math placement and course-taking patterns during the 2023/24 school year in Tacoma Public Schools in Washington State. 

• Findings showed that it is common for TPS students to repeat Algebra I in grade 9, including many who had already received credit for Algebra I in grade 8.
• Data also showed that students who took Geometry in grade 9 and Algebra II in grade 10 were more likely to take and pass advanced math courses by grade 12 compared to those who retook Algebra I, regardless of whether students did or did not score at the proficient level in math on the grade 7 state math assessment.
• The findings also suggest that taking Algebra II in grade 9 before Geometry in grade 10 may support later success in math.
• Insights from various interviews suggests that guidance counselors, teachers, and students need more information to make informed math course enrollment decisions.

From this work, REL Northwest developed two resources: 

• A family guide that helps to understand high school math course placement and includes a form to help support placement conversations and decisions.
• A school/district form that district and high school leaders and guidance counselors can use to document how math placement decisions are made within and across high schools.

Together, these two resources can support grade 9 math placement decisions to reflect students’ prior learning and current needs in consideration with future math options.