How middle school math sets students up for high school success (The Columbus Dispatch)

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Home – News – How middle school math sets students up for high school success (The Columbus Dispatch)

How middle school math sets students up for high school success (The Columbus Dispatch)

May 05, 2025 by EdTrust

“William Rodick, preschool-12 practice lead at the education advocacy group EdTrust, said that a barrier to entry into higher math in lower-income districts is access and funding of math programs, or more broadly that some schools use subjective metrics for entry into eighth grade algebra — often teacher recommendation.

“When we talk about algebra in eighth grade, since so many (school) systems base placement on teacher recommendation or some other metrics that are not really heavily-data driven, a lot of kids don’t get access who would truly excel at that stage.”

It all comes back to the mindset of whether or not someone is a “math person,” which Rodick and others experts say is a factor of what messages kids receive rather than whether or not they’re capable of excelling in math.”