The Education Explainer

Senate Bill (SB) 2124 was passed during the 8th Legislative session and states that all Texas public and open-enrollment charter schools will develop an advanced mathematics program for middle school students deemed qualified which is to prepare them to take Algebra I in 8th grade. Sixth graders will be automatically opted in to the program if they perform in the top 40 percent on the 5th grade State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) mathematics exam. Students may additionally be admitted to the program via local standards, specifically class rank or demonstrated proficiency in 5th grade. [Link] Parents are required to actively opt out of the program if they do not with for their child to participate.

In order to provide 6th and 7th grade students with a suitable foundation for Algebra I, the 6th-8th grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) approved in 2012 have been condensed into two years of content. What will this look like in practice? The Texas Education Agency (TEA) have provided what they call a series of “Crosswalks” that compare the Advanced Mathematics Standards with the 2012 TEKS. I found these “crosswalks” difficult to navigate, so I have reworked the spreadsheets into several variations that better highlight the differences in these proposed classes.

The first set is a spreadsheet for the new Grade 6 and Grade 7 Advanced Mathematics Standards, highlighting changes from the 2012 TEKS for each grade. The second is a long-form document with this same information in a format more similar to one TEA provides. [Grade 6] [Grade 7] I have chosen not to reformat the Grade 8 Crosswalk because it is essentially identical to the Algebra I standards, by design.

What is the stated purpose of this bill?

The bill’s authors hope to “increase the number of students who complete advanced mathematics courses in high school,” which research shows is correlated to completion of a higher education degree within six years of high school graduation, among other benefits. An “opt out” as opposed to an “opt in” model lowers the friction to participation, which is particularly important for underrepresented populations. And, while there are many questions regarding the nuts and bolts of policy implementation, I would like to start with a deep dive into how standard compaction will affect the content student in the Advanced Mathematics track will be expected to master.

Content Compaction

As the diagram above illustrates, the TEKS approved in 2012 will be split between Grade 6 and Grade 7. In a change more conceptual than practical, the strands have also been split into foundational and applicational substrands, which means some TEKS are moved around a bit. Quick note: the following standards are presented as optional, for districts who do not already have an advanced mathematics program in place. If a program is already in place, the only change will be to enrollment in the program. Regarding changes to the mathematics content as a result of the compaction, click over to the Grade 6 and Grade 7 pages.