@EdWorkingPaper{ai24-986,
title = "Accelerating Opportunity: The Effects of Instructionally Supported Detracking",
author = "Thomas S. Dee, Elizabeth Huffaker",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "986",
year = "2024",
month = "June",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai24-986",
abstract = {The pivotal role of Algebra in the educational trajectories of U.S. students continues to motivate controversial, high-profile policies focused on when students access the course, their classroom peers, and how the course is taught. This random-assignment partnership study examines an innovative district-level reform—the Algebra I Initiative—that placed 9th-grade students with prior math scores well below grade level into Algebra I classes coupled with teacher training instead of a remedial pre-Algebra class. We find that this reform significantly increased grade-11 math achievement (ES = 0.2 SD) without lowering the achievement of classroom peers eligible for conventional Algebra I classes. This initiative also increased attendance, district retention, and overall math credits. These results suggest that higher expectations for the lowest-performing students coupled with aligned teacher supports is a promising model for realizing students’ mathematical potential.},
}