What Grade 7 Foundational Knowledge and Skills Are Associated with Missouri Students’ Algebra I Achievement in Grade 8? - Relational Educational Laboratory Central (REL 2020-023)

Oct 15, 2026

Study examining whether grade 7 foundational knowledge across five math domains is associated with algebra I achievement in grade 8 for Missouri students. Findings indicate students’ scores in all five domains relate to algebra I achievement, with expressions and equations showing the strongest association. The number system association is stronger for English learners than for non–English learners, while differences are not significant for students receiving special education services. The report discusses implications for identifying student readiness for acceleration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Why this study?

Study purpose and key findings

About a third of insufficiently prepared students leave acceleration

Partnership and study design

Math domains assessed in grade 7

Ratios and proportional relationships

The number system

Expressions and equations

Geometry

Statistics and probability

A Publication of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance at IES What Grade 7 Foundational Knowledge and Skills Are Associated with Missouri Students’ Algebra I Achievement in Grade 8? Regional Educational Laboratory Central At Marzano Research REL 2020–023 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION What Grade 7 Foundational Knowledge and Skills Are Associated with Missouri Students’ Algebra I Achievement in Grade 8? Mary Klute, Barbara Dougherty, and Douglas Van Dine July 2020 To increase opportunities for students to take more advanced math courses in high school, many school districts enroll grade 8 students in Algebra I, a gateway course for advanced math. But students who take Algebra I in grade 8 and skip other math courses, such as grade 8 general math, might miss opportunities to develop the foundational knowledge and skills required for success in advanced math courses. This leaves educators to determine which students are ready for Algebra I in grade 8 and which are not. To inform strategies that address this challenge, this study examined whether student knowledge in five math domains in grade 7 was associated with Algebra I achievement in grade 8. It found that students’ scores in all five domains were associated with Algebra I achievement. The expressions and equations domain had the strongest association. The association between the number system domain and Algebra I achievement was stronger for English learner students than for non–English learner students. The associations between the five grade 7 domains and Algebra I achievement did not significantly differ for students who were receiving special education services and those who were not. Why this study? Increasing numbers of students are enrolling in Algebra I in middle school in order to take more advanced math courses in high school (Star et al., 2015), including about 20 percent of grade 8 students in Missouri (Data Recognition Corporation, 2016, 2017; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2015, 2016) . But students who take Algebra I in grade 8 and skip other math courses, such as grade 8 general math, might miss opportunities to build the foundational knowledge and skills needed to perform well in Algebra I (Domina, McEachin, Penner, & Penner, 2015; Pillay, Wilss, & Boulton-Lewis, 1998) . As a result, educators’ efforts to accelerate students’ progress may have unintended consequences: students placed directly in Algebra I may windup struggling, actually decreasing the likelihood that they will go on to take higher level math courses that open doors to the widest possible variety of college and career options (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2012; Loveless, 2008; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008) . About a third of students who are insufficiently prepared for an accelerated progression of math courses leave the progression and take non–college preparatory courses (Dougherty, Goodman, Hill, Litke, & Page, 2017), thus defeating the purpose of taking Algebra I in middle school. To inform strategies that address these concerns, the Regional Educational Laboratory Central—in partnership with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education—conducted this study on the association between scores in the five math domains assessed by the 2016/17 Missouri Assessment Program in grade 7 (box 1) and Algebra I achievement in grade 8. A large body of research has examined the types of experiences that students need in order to be successful in Algebra I (for example, Blanton, 2008; Blanton, Levi, Crites, Dougherty, & Zbiek, 2011; Carpenter, Levi, Berman, & Pligge, 2005; Carraher, Martinez, & Schliemann, 2008; Dougherty, 2008; Dougherty, Bryant, Bryant, Darrough, & Pfannenstiel, 2015) . Researchers have found that Algebra I achievement is strongly associated with the number system and with knowledge of expressions and equations (see appendix A) . But research conducted to date focuses more on

FAQs

What was the study investigating?

The study examined whether students’ grade 7 knowledge in five math domains is associated with their algebra I achievement in grade 8 in Missouri.

Which grade 7 math domain had the strongest association with grade 8 algebra I achievement?

The expressions and equations domain showed the strongest association with algebra I achievement.

Did the associations differ for English learners and non–English learners?

Yes. The association between the number system domain and algebra I achievement was stronger for English learner students than for non–English learner students.

Oct 15, 2026

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