Math course taking patterns and achievement at the end of H.S.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released a new study, “Mathematics Course-taking and Achievement at the End of High School: Evidence from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002.” This research examines the relationship between the number and types of math courses taken in the 11th- and 12th-grades and the growth in math proficiency over that same time period. Discussed are the course-taking sequences prevalent among today’s high school students in the second half of high school, the socioeconomic characteristics of the students who follow these sequences, and the association between particular courses and sequences and math proficiency gains. In terms of learning in specific content areas, the largest gains in intermediate math skills were made by those who followed the geometry-algebra II sequence. [Read the report]