While educators and policymakers debate whether 8th graders can be readied to learn algebra, Sigrid B. Frawley sits in front of her kindergartners with a magic bag. She puts three tokens in the bag ...

High school math, and algebra, in particular, is in crisis. Although some students thrive on the pathway to calculus, most do not. Algebra I is the single most failed course in American high schools.

More than 1 in 3 public school students now take Algebra 1 before high school. For those students to succeed, schools must adjust middle school programs to better match student readiness to class ...