Algebra I in eighth grade has been a stretch. “I could do multiplication tables ... The kids clapped and cheered. Riccio put ...

“Algebra in eighth grade is a gateway to a lot of further ... conducted by the research organization RAND, suggests three problems at the poorest middle schools, which are disproportionately ...

Focus.” He wrote another large integer on the whiteboard. “What if I give you something like this? Any volunteers?” Eighth grade algebra teacher Rick Riccio helps students with a problem at Braham ...

slope — that come with Algebra I, some experts and teachers say. Those more complex ideas also require extended concentration, which is difficult for many middle schoolers. “Eighth grade, they’re just ...