73,000 Middle School Students in California are Enrolled in Algebra I Classes With Underprepared or ``Out-of-Field'' Teachers; Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning Calls for Summer Institutes for 8th Grade Algebra I Teachers.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Despite California's stringent academic standards, testing and graduation requirements requiring knowledge of Algebra, more than 73,000 of the state's middle school students are enrolled in Algebra I classes in which the teacher is either underprepared or assigned "out-of-field." In California, 950 middle school teachers, or about 40% of the workforce assigned to teach Algebra I in middle school, do not have a single-subject matter credential in mathematics and may lack the background and preparation necessary to effectively teach the subject, according to a new briefing paper by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. In addition, at the high school level, nearly 2000 math teachers, about one out of every five, are teaching out of their field of expertise or have not yet completed requirements for even a preliminary credential. Burgeoning student enrollment at the middle and high school levels coupled with increasing teacher retirements, will further challenge California's capacity to provide students with mathematics teachers. E[acute accent]On average, schools with the lowest passing rates on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) have far more of these underprepared teachers than schools with higher pass rates. Schools with lower pass rates are three times more likely to have underprepared teachers than schools with the highest passing rates. E[acute accent]To help provide students the opportunity to meet the high academic standards the state has set in mathematics, the Center is recommending that California's governor and Legislature immediately act to establish summer institutes for 8th grade Algebra I teachers. The institutes should be designed to give teachers the subject matter knowledge and instructional skill they need to ensure their students acquire a sound foundation in algebra that will enable them to succeed on the high school exit exam and go on to higher level mathematics. E[acute accent]These findings and recommendations can be found in the new CFTL Centerview: California's Approach to Math Instruction Doesn't Add Up at www.cftl.org. For additional information or comment, please contact John McDonald at 310-798-3252 or 310-880-5332 or by email at [e-mail].