Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Access and Enrollment in the Nation’s Schools
A closer look at access and enrollment in Algebra I.
— U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Powered by InformED and the 2015–16 Civil Rights Data Collection
Introduction
The importance of STEM
Focus on Algebra I
Our charts are interactive!
Hover over or click on chart elements to learn more about specific data points.
Let’s take a closer look at Algebra I access and enrollment at the district level, school level, and by different student characteristics. We will begin with an overview of all grades and then transition to focus on 8th grade Algebra I.
School Level
Schools were most likely to offer Algebra I in 9th or 10th grade.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
Notes
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools reporting inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment for the same grade level were excluded from this analysis.
Schools that offer Algebra I in 8th grade provide their students with a better chance of reaching more advanced math and science courses in high school.
Geography of Access
The Geography of Algebra I Access.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
Notes
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools reporting inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment were excluded from this analysis.
This map only includes regular local school districts and local school districts that are component of a supervisory union. Data might be missing from the map if:
- A district did not have schools serving 8th-grade students.
- A district that reported data did not match with the NCES district boundary file.
District data displayed on the map may not be based on all schools in the district. All districts with data have complete and consistent data for at least one school in the district.
Eighth grade students who attended suburban schools had more access to Algebra I classes than students in other school locales.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
Notes
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons:
- The school reported inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment.
- Missing 8th-grade enrollment data or the 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count was larger than the 8th-grade overall enrollment.
- Missing urbanicity data.
School Type
Eighth grade students in magnet and traditional public schools had more access to Algebra I classes than students in other types of schools.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2015–16 Civil Rights Data Collection and National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2015–16
Notes
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons:
- The school reported inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment.
- Missing 8th-grade enrollment data or the 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count was larger than the 8th-grade overall enrollment.
School type categories in this analysis are not mutually exclusive. For example, a school can be both a charter school and an alternative school. Traditional schools are defined in this analysis as regular schools that are not charter, magnet, alternative/vocational, or special education schools.
1 School type categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, a school can be both a charter school and an alternative school. Traditional schools are defined in this analysis as regular schools that are not charter, magnet, alternative/vocational, or special education schools.
Geography of Enrollment
The Geography of Algebra I Enrollment.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
Notes
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools reporting inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment were excluded from this analysis.
This map only includes regular local school districts and local school districts that are component of a supervisory union. Data might be missing from the map if:
- A district did not have schools serving 8th-grade students.
- A district did not have schools reporting complete and consistent Algebra I enrollment and overall enrollment data.
- A district that reported data did not match with the NCES district boundary file.
District data displayed on the map may not be based on all schools in the district. All districts with data have complete and consistent data for at least one school in the district.
Overall, 24 percent of 8th grade students enrolled in Algebra I.
Using the data
The data file (.csv) for this chart has been downloaded.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2015–16 Civil Rights Data Collection and National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2015–16
Notes
Gender
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons:
- The school reported inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment.
- Missing 8th-grade enrollment data or the 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count was larger than the 8th-grade overall enrollment for either the male or female subgroup.
Race / Ethnicity
This chart is based on data submitted by 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were excluded from this analysis for the following reasons:
- The school reported inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment.
- Missing 8th-grade enrollment data or the 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count was larger than the 8th-grade overall enrollment for at least one race/ethnicity subgroup.
Asian students enrolled at the highest rate in 8th grade Algebra I (34 percent). In comparison, the groups with the lowest rates of enrollment in 8th grade Algebra I – black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic students were each over 2.5 times less likely to be enrolled.
Pacific Islander students were over 2.4 times less likely to be enrolled.
Students of Two or more races were 48 percent less likely to be enrolled than their Asian peers and white students were 43 percent less likely to be enrolled.
While 80 percent of 8th grade students enrolled in a school that offered 8th grade Algebra I , only 24 percent actually enrolled in the course .
What is the CRDC?
The data we have explored in this story come from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The CRDC collects a variety of information including student enrollment and educational programs and services from our nation’s public schools. It has been conducted by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) under the Department of Education since 1968. Most of the data collected in CRDC are disaggregated by race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency, and disability.
The 2015–16 CRDC collected data from nearly every public school in the country and for the first time, it collected data on Algebra I classes and enrollment in middle schools. This provides a unique opportunity to examine the current state of class offering and student enrollment in these early math courses and how they compare by student and school characteristics and by community.
How Algebra I is used in ESSA
Algebra I is used as an important indicator in consolidated state plans. Under section 8302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states must submit a consolidated State plan to provide information about how the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, will be implemented in their state. Many states cited taking Algebra I classes or passing Algebra I exams as an outcome measure for their goals. Some examples are:
- States including Arizona, Virginia, Maryland, and Mississippi will continue to provide every student the opportunity to take Algebra I in middle schools, and more states including New Jersey and Tennessee will support district’s effort to increase Algebra I taking in middle school.
- To measure high school math performance and participation in Virginia, the cohort rate will be calculated based on the number of students who took the Algebra I test.
- New York will use the Algebra I passing rate as one of the measurable program outcomes for their migrant students program.
(Sources: https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplan17/index.html#map; https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplan17/azconsolidatedstateplan.pdf; http://www.doe.virginia.gov/federal_programs/esea/essa/essa-state-plan.pdf; http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/essa/documents/nys-essa-plan-final-1-16-2018-with-tracked-changes.pdf; https://knowledgeworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/essa-states-personalized-learning.pdf )
What the Research Says
Research on Algebra I
Improves math achievement
“Enrollment in algebra or higher was associated with higher mathematics scores on the assessment given at the end of the eighth grade, and this was true within each subgroup category—sex, race/ethnicity, poverty status, mother’s education, family type, region, school type, and school’s algebra enrollment (e.g., black students in algebra or higher courses outperformed black students not in algebra).”
Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings From the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K)( https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010016.pdf )
Increases coursetaking in more advanced math and science courses
“Early access to algebra has an effect beyond simple increased knowledge measures and, in fact, may “socialize” a student into taking more mathematics, regulating access both to advanced coursework and increased achievement in high school.”
Does an Extra Year Make Any Difference? The Impact of Early Access to Algebra on Long-Term Gains in Mathematics Attainment ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/01623737018002141 )
“Students who completed algebra I in the ninth grade completed a range of science courses by the end of high school.”
Paths Through Mathematics and Science: Patterns and Relationships in High School Coursetaking ( https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018118.pdf )
Long-term benefits through taking advanced math courses
“The percentage of students entering STEM fields was higher among students who took trigonometry, precalculus, or calculus in high school.”
Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Postsecondary Education ( https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009161.pdf )
Data Notes
Data Exclusion Rules
Data included in this story may differ slightly from other published reports due to certain data decisions. For the purposes of these analyses, schools with incomplete or inconsistent data values were excluded:
- Less than 1% of schools were excluded from all analyses because the school reported inconsistent data for Algebra I enrollment for the same grade level.
- An additional 6% of schools serving 8th-grade students were excluded from all enrollment analyses due to missing 8th-grade enrollment data or the 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count being larger than the 8th-grade overall enrollment.
- Less than 10 schools were excluded from the enrollment by urbanicity analysis due to missing data.
- Schools with an 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count larger than the 8th-grade enrollment for either the male or female subgroup (1% of schools serving 8th-grade students) were excluded from the enrollment by gender analysis.
- Schools with an 8th-grade Algebra I enrollment count larger than the 8th-grade enrollment for at least one race/ethnicity subgroup (16% of schools serving 8th-grade students) were excluded from the enrollment by race/ethnicity analysis.
In most cases, inconsistent data values do not indicate data quality issues. They could be a result of data rounding, suppression, or perturbation to protect the identity of individuals or different approaches to reporting for data elements in the same survey or in different surveys.
Map Notes
Maps in this story only include regular local school districts and local school districts that are component of a supervisory union.
Data might be missing from the maps if:
- A district did not have schools serving 8th-grade students.
- A district did not have schools reporting complete and consistent Algebra I enrollment and overall enrollment data.
- A district that reported data did not match with the NCES district boundary file.
District data displayed on the maps may not be based on all schools in the district. All districts with data have complete and consistent data for at least one school in the district.
School Type Definition
School type categories in this story are not mutually exclusive. For example, a school can be both a charter school and an alternative school. Traditional schools are defined in this analysis as regular schools that are not charter, magnet, alternative/vocational, or special education schools.
