Washington board may require students to take second-year algebra

The state Board of Education may decide Thursday that all high-school students must pass algebra II to graduate, adding Washington to the list of states ratcheting up their math requirements.

If approved, the change would go into effect for the class of 2013 — this fall's eighth-graders. Students would either have to pass a class called algebra II or classes that cover the same material.

The Legislature decided last year students must take three years of math, not two, and directed the state board to determine what the added year should include. The board will vote on a definition of algebra II that many of its members think will meet the needs of would-be engineers as well as those who don't plan to pursue a technical career.

Students who don't complete algebra II tend to wind up taking remedial math in Washington's community colleges — which roughly half the entering students do.

"If you're even thinking about going to college, you really should think about taking algebra II," said Edie Harding, the state board's executive director.

But the goal is also an ambitious one, given that about a quarter of this year's seniors didn't pass math on the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning — even taking it several times since their sophomore year. That test generally covers algebra I and geometry.

The hope is that by adding the third year, more students will be better prepared for that exam, too.

Students who want to attend four-year colleges typically have to take three or more years of math to be considered for admission.

A number of school districts already require three years, such as Bellevue, Federal Way and Kent. But many don't. Seattle, for example, requires just two, as do Mercer Island, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Northshore and Shoreline.

The new requirement would raise the ante for all students and would be much more specific about which kinds of math classes would count toward graduation. Students would take algebra I, geometry and algebra II, or the same content in other approved classes. (Students also could opt out of algebra II if they could show that another math class made more sense for their career plans.)

Fourteen other states plan to add algebra II to their graduation requirements, but Texas is the only state to have done so. And although California recently decided to require all eighth-graders to pass algebra I, that doesn't appear to be on the agenda here.

While many math teachers support an algebra II requirement, they also warn that making students take more math won't help all of them succeed.

Bill Moore, director of The Transition Math Project, a public-private program that aims to reduce the number of Washington students who take remedial math in college, says math instruction needs to improve, too, especially for students who struggle with math.

"There's a limit to what you're going to get by just requiring more math," he said.

The math change may be just the first step in what could be a major overhaul of Washington's graduation requirements.

The state board also is scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposal — still in its outline stage — to increase the number of required classes in many subjects, not just math. The board has been talking about requiring four years of English, for example, instead of three, and two years of foreign language.

Final approval on that package, however, won't come until next year and likely would depend on the Legislature providing additional funding.

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com