2026/01/28 by Thomas S. Dee, Elizabeth Huffaker · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Academic achievement #Algebra over a field #Attendance #Early Childhood Education and Development #General partnership #Ninth #Parental Involvement in Education #Remedial education #School Choice and Performance #Student achievement
paper · doi:10.3102/00028312251408539
published in American Educational Research Journal 63(2), 307-350 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2026/01/28 · openalex created_date 2026/01/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The pivotal role of algebra in the educational trajectories of U.S. students continues to motivate high-profile policies focused on when students access the course, their peers, and how it is taught. This random-assignment partnership study examined an innovative district-level reform—the Algebra I Initiative—that placed ninth grade students with prior math scores below grade level into Algebra I classes coupled with teacher training instead of a remedial pre-algebra class. We found that this reform significantly increased grade 11 math achievement (extreme spread = 0.2 SD) without lowering the achievement of classroom peers. This initiative also increased attendance and district retention. These results suggest that higher expectations for the lowest-performing students coupled with aligned teacher supports is a promising model for realizing students’ mathematical potential.