Double-dose algebra was discontinued before its benefits were documented, though subsequent research found long-term benefits¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? CPS jettisoned double-dose algebra after a few years because improved academic outcomes had not yet been documented and scheduling was complicated, but later research documented improved pass rates, graduation rates, and college enrollments. → Sharon Greenberg & Anthony S. Bryk 2024

Evidence¶

Sharon Greenberg & Anthony S. Bryk 2024¶

Sharon Greenberg & Anthony S. Bryk. (2024). Change that matters: Progress made by Chicago Public Schools shows that successful change takes time, focus, and patience. Kappan, V105 N6. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/change-that-matters

q2 · i? · review · r1

The article's narrative of the Algebra Initiative reports that the double-dose intervention, which gave at-risk freshmen a support period plus algebra, was dropped before outcomes appeared; the authors cite Nomi, Raudenbush, & Smith (2021) for later-documented long-term benefits.

"Double-dose algebra was jettisoned after a few years, however, because improved academic outcomes had not been documented yet, and administrators complained that it complicated course scheduling rooted in established teacher preferences."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chicago Public Schools improved dramatically between 1987 and 2017, with the biggest gains among students of color and low-income students — related
• Chicago's Algebra Initiative raised the 8th-grade algebra pass rate from 4% in 2002 to about 20% by 2017 and closed two-thirds of the NAEP gap — related
• Chicago's public school system moved from among the most troubled in America in 1987 to among the most improved thirty years later — related
• Double-dose algebra improved test scores but did not reduce algebra failure rates — reports the opposite
• Extended learning time interventions, including week-long acceleration academies with highly effective teachers and some double-dose math structures, show strong evidence of effectiveness — a broader claim this one bears on
• Double-dose algebra improved algebra test scores for targeted students just below the cutoff, with a larger post-policy gain than for students just above the cutoff — related
• Algebra failure rates rose post-policy for above-norm students (~3 percentage points) but fell for below-norm students (~4 points); classroom environment and peer ability explained most of the above-norm rise but not the below-norm fall — related
• Double-dose algebra support courses improved algebra test scores for targeted low-skilled students but only modestly affected grades and failure rates — related