Education Commons^™

Middle Grades Math: Assessing The Debate Over The When And How Of Algebra, Jesse Senechal

MERC Publications

Within discussions of K-12 math, the middle grades are framed as a critical period of transition between the foundational concepts presented in elementary math classes and the more abstract upper-level math classes that are traditionally associated with the high school level (i.e. Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus). Over the past two decades important debates have occurred among educational researchers, math educators, and education policy makers as to the proper approach to middle grades math policy. At the center of this debate is the question of how and when to integrate algebra into the math course sequence. This focus on algebra …