Eighth-Grade Algebra Enrollment Focus of New NCES Report

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Algebra is a “gateway” course for the sequence of mathematics and science courses that prepares students for success in college and careers in competitive mathematics- and science-related disciplines. Eighth-grade algebra enrollment in the United States is on the rise, but this trend has sparked discussion about the potential benefits and drawbacks.

Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings From the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) is a Statistics in Brief from the National Center for Education Statistics. It provides descriptive statistics on algebra enrollment for the cohort of students from the first-grade class of 1999-2000 who had progressed to eighth grade in the 2006-07 school year -- representing about 80 percent of the eighth-grade class of 2006-07.

It also examines mathematics performance at the end of eighth grade by algebra enrollment and other characteristics, including prior mathematics ability and schools’ level of eighth-grade algebra enrollment. The findings suggest that some groups of students were differentially enrolled in algebra, including among those who showed earlier potential.

Key findings include:
Some 39 percent of the 2006-07 eighth-grade students from the cohort were enrolled in an algebra class or a course more advanced than algebra (such as geometry or algebra II).

Students in the cohort who had higher mathematics scores at the end of the fifth grade were enrolled in algebra by the eighth grade in 2006-07 at higher rates compared to those with lower fifth-grade scores. However, about a quarter of the students who scored in the top quintile (highest 20 percent) of fifth-grade mathematics scores and about half of the students who scored in the second quintile (next highest 20 percent) of fifth-grade mathematics scores had not moved on to an algebra class by the eighth grade.

Male students and Black students in the top 40 percent of fifth-grade mathematics scores proceeded on to algebra by the eighth grade at lower rates than other students in these top two quintiles. For all students in this high-scoring group, 62 percent proceeded on to algebra, compared to 35 percent for Black students and 56 percent for male students.

Not all relationships between the variables are fully investigated and readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based on the results presented. Additionally, it is important to note that there may be variables related to algebra enrollment and mathematics achievement which are not examined in this report.

This Statistics in Brief is a product of the National Center for Education Statistics at the Institute of Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Education.