The State Board of Education ended a decade-long controversial policy of pushing eighth graders to take Algebra I when members voted unanimously Wednesday to strip California’s Algebra I standards from the state’s eighth grade math standards.
Those standards will now mirror the national Common Core standards, which do not include Algebra I for eighth graders. The State Board will create curriculum options to accelerate math-taking in middle school and high school and to leave it up to local districts to determine who’s eligible for them. About two-thirds of eighth graders enrolled in Algebra I last year. That number is likely to decline; supporters of Common Core argue that many will be better off taking it a year later.Board members stressed that the new approach is not a reversal but a more nuanced policy encouraging Algebra I in eighth grade for students with the skills to handle it and a vote of confidence in Common Core’s more gradual approach to algebra mastery.
Ilene Straus said the goal should be to encourage students to take Algebra I when they are ready.
“The intent is not to water down standards but to deepen rigor,” said Ilene Straus, the vice president of the Board, who is a former school principal. “The concern of some in the field is that they don’t want