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School board toughens rules
Stricter math standards adopted for D.C. diplomas
(Published March 8, 2004)

Math requirements to receive a high school diploma from D.C. Public Schools are about to get tougher.

The D.C. Board of Education has adopted new graduation requirements that require students to successfully complete Algebra I. The new standards, approved unanimously Feb. 18 at the board’s monthly meeting, will apply to all students who graduate in 2007 and beyond.

Completion of the easier Elementary Algebra course, or an equivalent, currently is required for graduation and will remain the standard through the 2005-2006 school year. The new rule mandates enrollment in Algebra I no later than ninth grade.

"Research shows that successful completion of Algebra I by ninth grade is the single most important factor in determining if black males will finish high school," school board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz said in explaining her support for the measure.

District I school board representative Julie Mikuta, who co-chairs the board’s Committee on Teaching and Learning, noted that the stricter math standards also are intended to "make sure that Alegbra I is [taught] the same in all schools."

Mikuta and committee co-chair Carrie Thornhill, a mayoral appointee to the board, recommended the revised math requirement following a DCPS administrative evaluation of state standards in California, Virginia, Ohio and Massachusetts and review of the core mathematics curriculum in Georgia and Louisiana. Twelve different locales’ learning standards for algebra were reviewed and Massachusetts’ content was selected to be a model for revising the District’s course.

Chief Academic Officer Robert Rice said textbooks and teacher training are being reviewed throughout the school system to make sure the new Algebra I course can be implemented when the 2004-2005 school year begins next fall.

The board’s resolution to adopt the new graduation requirement noted that "many DCPS students do not demonstrate a strong understanding of mathematic concepts" and stressed "an immediate need to provide more rigorous and challenging coursework to high school students to strengthen knowledge, skills and competency."

The board directed Superintendent Elfreda W. Massie to submit an implementation plan to the board within 30 days. The plan must "include specific steps that will be taken to prepare students for Algebra I." The superintendent also must prepare a report to the board next year that reflects how many students are enrolled in or have completed Algebra I and that tracks Stanford-9 aptitude test scores of students enrolled in Algebra I.