National Research

Predicting Algebra Readiness

Overview

Published: January 2024

Algebra readiness plays a critical role in shaping students’ academic and life trajectories. The purpose of this study was to understand how the combined and unique contributions of previous Mathematics domain performance are related to future overall mathematics performance, specifically algebra readiness. Student mathematics performance was tracked using data from the i-Ready Diagnostic between the 2020–2021 through 2022–2023 school years for five cohorts of students in Grades 2–6. Overall, this study found that for all cohorts, Mathematics domain placements in Year 1 (i.e., winter 2021) of the study were strongly related to overall mathematics scores in Year 3 (i.e., spring 2023). Further, we found that all domains are important for future algebra success, suggesting a holistic approach to teaching mathematics.

Subject:Mathematics
Grades:2–8
Topic:Algebra Readiness
Study Year:2021–2023

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Meet the Authors

Jennifer Sallman, Ph.D.

Jennifer Sallman, Ph.D., is the managing director of research at Braven, where she articulates and executes a research agenda aimed at improving and validating their model. Previously, she was the director of efficacy and implementation research at Curriculum Associates, where she managed a team examining the efficacy of Curriculum Associates products. She earned her Ph.D. at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a master's in public administration, specializing in public policy analysis, from New York University and a master's of science and bachelor's of science in organic chemistry from Emory University.

Jeffrey Yo

Jeffrey Yo, Ph.D., currently works at Curriculum Associates (CA), where he evaluates the efficacy of CA's products, particularly in i-Ready Personalized Instruction and i-Ready Classroom Mathematics. Yo earned a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where his research focused on the influence of teachers' racial and ethnic identities on student academic and social development. He also holds an M.A. in Education from UCLA and a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.