This report from the National Center for Education Evaluation/Regional Educational Laboratory (U.S.) presents findings from a randomized control trial designed to inform the decisions of policymakers who are considering using online courses to provide access to Algebra 1 in grade 8. It focuses on students judged by their schools to be ready to take Algebra 1 in grade 8 but who attend schools that do not offer the course.
The study tested the impact of offering an online Algebra 1 course on students’ algebra achievement at the end of grade 8 and their subsequent likelihood of participating in an advanced mathematics course sequence in high school. The study was designed to respond to both broad public interest in the deployment of online courses for K–12 students and to calls from policymakers to provide students with adequate pathways to advanced coursetaking sequences in mathematics (National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2008).
