Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.Having access to Algebra 1 in eighth grade can often make or break a student’s path to high school calculus, which in turn, is often a gateway to selective colleges as well as science and engineering careers. But many eighth graders can’t take Algebra 1 — regardless of how well they did on their seventh grade state math test. And when New York City parents are exploring middle school options for their fifth graders, they might not realize the consequences a school’s math offerings might have for their students’ education trajectory. Across New York state, more than 1 in 4 schools don’t offer Algebra 1 to eighth graders, found a report released Thursday from the New York Equity Coalition, a group convened by EdTrust-New York, an advocacy group focused on improving outcomes for students of color. Schools that disproportionately enroll Black, Latino, and low-income students tend to have less access to Algebra 1 in middle school.“When we have qualified kids that are denied that opportunity, and it impacts them in high school and beyond … it is such a critical inflection point,” said Jeff Smink, deputy director at EdTrust-New York.He hopes to raise awareness about the importance of Algebra 1 for eighth graders so parents can advocate for it. “If there’s no demand, then schools aren’t going to respond to it,” he said. “They’re going to offer the easier, simpler option, which is just tracking kids to the standard eighth grade class, which is going to avoid kids struggling, it’s going to get potentially better test scores.”While 58% of New York’s seventh graders scored proficient (a 3 or 4) on their 2023-24 state math exams, in the following school year — 2024-25 — just 37% of eighth graders enrolled in Algebra 1, representing a gap of 20,000 proficient students, the report said. More than half were estimated to be from low-income families, and nearly half were students of color. In New York City alone, there were 8,000 more students proficient on seventh grade state exams than enrolled in eighth grade Algebra 1, according to the researchers. The state’s gaps were starkest for Black and Asian American students: while 38% of Black students and 75% of Asian American seventh graders were proficient, 13% of Black and 14% Asian American eighth graders the following year enrolled in Algebra 1, the study found. Drilling down into the data, using the coalition’s lookup tool, reveals vastly uneven access across New York City’s 32 local districts. The top three districts with more proficient seventh graders than eighth graders in Algebra 1: Queens’ District 24, Brooklyn’s District 20, and Staten Island. Each had gaps of more than 1,400 students, researchers said. In five districts, fewer than half of their schools offered Algebra 1 for eighth graders: Manhattan Districts 4 and 6, Brooklyn’s District 13, and Bronx Districts 7 and 12. Eight districts appeared to be outliers, with either more than or an equal share of eighth graders taking Algebra 1 last year compared to the percentage of seventh graders who scored proficient on their state math tests the year before: Manhattan’s District 3; Bronx’s District 11, Brooklyn Districts 15, 19, 23, and 32; and Queens Districts 27, 28, and 30. Equity gaps in proficiency remain, however, and three of those districts — 19, 23, and 32 in Brooklyn, which overwhelmingly serve Black, Latino, and low-income students — had fewer than half of their students who were proficient.The report recommends the state adopt an automatic enrollment, or opt-out policy, for all eighth graders who score proficient on seventh grade state tests. They want an $8.5 million investment to help 15 high-needs districts expand Algebra 1 access as well as fund tutoring, staffing, and public data tracking enrollment and completion by race and income. The report comes at a time when Gov. Kathy Hochul, in January’s State of the State address, called for an overhaul of math instruction, getting “back to the basics,” proposing $4 million for more teacher training and support. New York City’s schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, a former math teacher, has also argued for a foundational approach to math emphasizing memorization of math facts along with a focus on creative problem-solving.Education Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report, but Samuels has hinted at some changes to come with math instruction. Under former Mayor Eric Adams, the city required nearly all high schools to use a single math curriculum from Illustrative Math for Algebra 1 — which has garnered some pushback from educators. Education Department officials are also requiring all middle schools shift to city-approved math curriculums by fall 2027. Several states and cities have focused more attention on eighth grade access to Algebra 1, including Chicago, which has offered the class online and has covered educators’ training costs to get credentials to teach algebra.Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
