Should Elementary and Middle School Students Learn Higher Level Math?

Have you noticed that the homework your child is bring home looks a little difficult for their grade level? 

While assisting your child with homework have you ever thought to yourself "I think I learned this in middle or high school not elementary school?"

A lot of parents feel the same way as you and the answer to those questions are yes and yes. What started out as those who were academically advanced taking high school courses like Algebra in 7th or 8th grade or high school students taking AP courses to earn college credit has turned into Elementary school students being introduced to Algebra and Geometry at early stages.

Any student can learn algebra, but the timing is critical. For example if you ask,"What number plus 5 is 9?" the child in elementary school should be able to tell you that the answer is 4. Problems like these are simple and easy skills for an elementary student to learn however we do not want to push them into learning all of Algebra at that age.

 Politicians like the idea of offering algebra in middle school. They argue that the world has sped up over the past generation; technology has gotten more complicated, ideas more complex. Why not introduce harder concepts at younger ages? In 2008, California lawmakers began a campaign to make algebra mandatory for eighth-graders, a shift that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger compared to President John F. Kennedy's pledge to put a man on the moon.  Meanwhile, many researchers believe that middle school students aren’t ready for algebra. In a 2008 letter to the editor of The Ventura County Star, Professor of Education Dr. Bruce Mitchell argued against California’s proposal. His letter referenced the studies of Dr. Herman Epstein, who believed that the human brain has rapid growth periods and plateau periods where no growth seems to take place. For most students, the middle school years occur during a plateau stage, and Epstein argued that "the plateau stages were not optimal times for the introduction of new higher-level thought processes, particularly algebra, which eighth-grade students fail more than any other subject. Historically, algebra has been most often offered in grades 10 though 12. That occurs during the age 14-17 growth-spurt stage, when it's OK to teach abstract reasoning concepts.”

I personally believe that it is acceptable to introduce elementary school students to Algebra and that it is also acceptable to allow students in middle school to take Algebra. I am the product of a magnet school and I took Algebra in the 7th grade by high school (9th grade) I had taken Algebra and Geometry and was moving on to Algebra 2. I am not sure if the students in my school (who all went down this same path) were an exception to the research or if it is truly acceptable.

As parents you know your children so get all of the facts and take the time to make the best decision for your child.

Nashville Learning Center
www.nashvillelearn.com
www.facebook.com/nashvillelearn
615-450-6NLC (6652)

#nashvillelearn
#algebra
#tutoring
#elementaryschool
#middleschool