Math Coming soon
Algebra 1 Path
A diagnostic that will find which Algebra 1 skills, and which earlier foundations, are holding each student back, then build the path forward.
The problem
Where Algebra 1 breaks down
Algebra 1 builds fast: linear equations lead to functions, systems and quadratics. When a student stalls, the cause can sit anywhere along that chain, including in middle school.
- A low score on quadratics doesn’t show that the real gap is factoring or integer operations.
- Students who pass with weak foundations struggle again in later math courses.
- Teachers rarely have time to diagnose each student one by one.
Inside the Path
What the Algebra 1 Path covers
The Algebra 1 Path will cover the Common Core high school standards that make up a first algebra course: seeing structure in expressions, creating and solving equations and inequalities, systems of equations, and interpreting functions, with linear, quadratic and exponential models at the center. It will sit on top of the Algebra Readiness map, so a gap in a high school skill can be traced into the middle school standards beneath it.
Where students get stuck
Common sticking points include treating a variable as a label rather than a quantity, distributing a negative sign to only the first term, assuming every function grows by the same amount each step, and confusing a line’s slope with its intercept. Many trace back to earlier ideas about integers, proportional reasoning and the meaning of the equals sign.
What it does for you
What this Path will do
For teachers
Will tag each wrong answer to the misconception behind it, so practice will start at the skill each student is missing, inside Algebra 1 or before it.
More for teachersFor school leaders
Will give students a skill path that starts at their own gap, so support goes to the skill that’s missing.
More for school leadersFor districts
Will extend the same diagnostic method from Algebra Readiness into high school math.
More for districtsHow it works
How the Path will work
Diagnose
An adaptive diagnostic will choose each question based on the answers so far, across the Algebra 1 standards.
Trace
Answers will be traced back through a prerequisite map, down into middle school skills where needed, to the point where understanding breaks down.
Rebuild
Students will get a skill path of lessons and checks that starts at their gap.
Standards
Will be built on published standards
Common Core high school math standards
The Algebra 1 Path will be built on the Common Core high school math standards, so its questions will line up with the course your teachers already teach.
The science
The method behind every Path
Item Response Theory
Each student’s ability is estimated from their answers, and each next question is the one expected to tell the most.
Prerequisite maps
Standards are mapped as a graph of which skills build on which, so a gap can be traced to where it starts.
Misconception tagging
Wrong answer choices are written to reveal specific misconceptions, from a controlled catalog.
Research
The research behind this Path
These published studies are about how students learn, not about SubjectPath itself.
Siegler and colleagues found that elementary students’ knowledge of fractions and division predicted their algebra knowledge and overall math achievement in high school, even after accounting for other math knowledge, general ability and family background.
Siegler et al. (2012)Booth and Newton found evidence that middle school students’ understanding of fraction size was related to their readiness for algebra, more so than their understanding of whole-number size.
Booth & Newton (2012)Knuth and colleagues found that many middle school students did not fully understand the equal sign, and that students with a stronger understanding of it solved equations more successfully, even accounting for overall math ability.
Knuth et al. (2006)
Help shape the Algebra 1 Path
Tell us about your courses and students, and which of your classes the Algebra 1 Path would serve. We’d like to hear what it should do first.
Tell us you’re interestedFrequently asked questions
- Will it connect to Algebra Readiness?
- Yes. The Algebra 1 Path will sit on top of the Algebra Readiness map, so a gap from an earlier grade can be traced all the way down.
- When will it be available?
- We don’t publish dates. Tell us about your timeline and we’ll talk it through.
- Can we help shape it?
- Yes. Tell us about your courses and students. We’d like to hear what you need from it.
Talk to us about the Algebra 1 Path
See Algebra Readiness in a demo today, and tell us what you need from this Path.