What really helps ninth graders who are struggling in math?

The Stanford-Sequoia K–12 Research Collaborative is a research-practice partnership between the Stanford Graduate School of Education — including the Gardner Center — and nine local school districts that serve over 30,000 students from kindergarten through high school.

One of the Collaborative's projects tackled how best to serve ninth-grade students who are struggling in math.

The challenge

For high schoolers, there’s a lot riding on whether they pass Algebra 1 by the end of ninth grade. Students who fail the course are unlikely to meet college admissions requirements by the end of their senior year, and they’re less likely than others to graduate at all.

The solution

Instead of placing struggling students in remedial math classes, the initiative “raised the floor” and enrolled them in mixed-level Algebra I classes with teachers who participated in robust and ongoing training programs that enabled them to provide these students with extra support.

Meanwhile, the Gardner Center built a massive database to track student outcomes, allowing researchers to study learning patterns and factors that predicted different academic outcomes.

Key takeaways

This study answers long-standing questions about how best to support high school students struggling in math. Contrary to common practice, research shows that placing them in remedial math classes is not the best solution.

Ninth graders in mixed Algebra 1 classes who entered below grade level did substantially better than their peers who were placed in remedial math courses.

The initiative increased attendance, the likelihood of staying in the district for all four years, and take-up of other college-ready math courses for the students who struggled initially.

There was no indication of negative effects for the students who were at grade level in the mixed groups.