New concepts on math

Some people claim there are two kinds of people in the world: those who can do math and those who can't. "I'm just not a math person," "I don't do numbers," or "I'm too right-brained," the mathematically challenged insist.

But education leaders say that's a big misconception. Teaching children advanced math too early could be the reason those students abandon math courses later on, they now believe.

Last year 33 percent of sophomores statewide failed the math portion in the state's new graduation tests, and math continues to be the toughest subject for most students on ACT exams.

According to a Davis School District study, end-of-level math test results drop progressively lower between first and ninth grade.

Around 65 percent of students enrolled in algebra in seventh grade, by their senior year, had either repeated courses or quit taking math classes entirely.

State graduation requirements call for two years of upper-level math, and once students satisfy that requirement they tend to call it quits.

That's bad news for the college-bound, as for every year a student sits out of math, they lose two years of instruction, said Lisa Jasumback, K-12 math supervisor for the district.

"As students leave (high school), on paper they seem to be ready for college, but in reality they aren't," said Jasumback.

Jasumback said students jump ship on math for a number of reasons. They face social pressure to take courses they aren't ready for, they are unable to master important concepts and they struggle through the remainder of their math requirements.

Students are identified in the sixth grade as being ready for elementary algebra based on their ability to do arithmetic, said Jasumback. But arithmetic is not a good predictor of success in abstract mathematics like algebra and intermediate algebra, though students may do well in those classes.

Students get the skills down, they can memorize algorithms, but when they get into a class where they need to apply those things later on, they can't, said Jasumback.

She said developmental research shows that only 5 percent of students at the age of 14 are cognitively ready to do formal operations and abstract mathematics. Yet some schools teach algebra as early as elementary grades.