Access to algebra: Social stratification in students' 8th grade mathematics courses.

Very little analytic research has looked carefully at the transition points in students' educational careers--those gateways that determine which students follow an academic path and which do not. In this dissertation I explore one such transition: when a student first takes algebra. I show that access to algebra before high school tends to lead to student success in mathematical study, while later access is correlated with failure or cessation of such study. In addition, which students receive early access is strongly dependent on students' socio-economic status. Using three different, nationally-representative data sets, I used advanced analytic techniques of path analysis, logistic regression, and hierarchical linear modeling to examine questions concerning the impact and distribution of early access to algebra in American middle-grade schools. Students who take algebra prior to high school benefit significantly in high school. They take more advanced courses, are more advanced in both 10th grade and 12th grade mathematics achievement, and are more likely to take calculus. However, student social class consistently helps to determine who gains access to this course, even after considering other factors. School culture can contribute in important ways in this relationship. For example, those middle-grade schools which emphasize a strong academic preparation for every student tend to be more egalitarian in who receives the opportunity to take algebra before high school. Schools can either facilitate or hinder students in their learning through helping determine what courses different students will take. The dilemma of how to address mathematics instruction to students of diverse skills is a very real concern to all educators. Unfortunately, the results of my investigations demonstrate that the current solution--offering qualitatively different experiences to different students--increases differences in mathematics attainment according to students' social background (specifically, by race and social class). In this way, schools themselves can limit later opportunities to pursue mathematics for students of certain socioeconomic backgrounds, exactly opposite of what they are supposed to do.Doctor of Education (EdD)EducationEducational sociologyMathematics educationSecondary educationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128963/2/9308255.pd