It's about Algebra!

It's actually about improving. Every student, every year.

But for now, it's about Algebra.

One of the more controversial and complicated aspects of the Tennessee Diploma Project reforms is that Tennessee students (starting with this year's 9th-graders) will now be required to satisfactorily complete Algebra II before graduating. Currently, the standard is Algebra I. And what this also means is that students who are used to taking math that gets them ready for Algebra, then finally completing Algebra I before graduating, must be ready for Algebra I no later than 10th grade. And it also means that they'll likely be taking Geometry.

That's a HUGE leap.

And it is necessary if Tennessee students are going to be college and workforce ready by the time they leave high school.

How do we do it? That's the big question.

If I were in charge, here's what I would say: We need to ensure that every child is ready for Algebra I by 9th grade. (I realize there will be some exceptions, but let's focus on a big goal and if we hit 90%, wow!)

EVERY child must be ready to take Algebra I and complete it satisfactorily by 9th grade. This will help them meet ACT college-readiness benchmarks. It will prepare them for the next level of math. It will mean they can meet the Algebra II standard by 11th grade and possibly take an even higher level math before graduating.

And, it will mean Tennesseans will begin to be more competitive in the global economy. The biggest and newest and most technologically advanced firms will become interested.

By the same token, we should increase by 50% the number of 8th graders who take and satisfactorily complete Algebra I. We should do so by 2015.

Overall, the key to getting education reform right is making sure every child improves every year.

But it is also about having high standards and doing what it takes to achieve them.

Every child in Tennessee ready for Algebra I by 9th grade. 50% increase in 8th graders taking and completing Algebra I by 2015 (by the way, 8th grade completion of Algebra I is one key indicator of a student's aptitude for the college level engineering, computer science, and statistics courses that lead to outstanding job opportunities -- hint: Companies will move to a state that is turning out these graduates in high numbers -- IT'S GOOD FOR TENNESSEE's weak economy)

Yes, maybe I could work on my grammar and sentence structure. But, the point is: BOLD GOALS. Every child every year. Algebra.