Double dose of algebra found to lift scores, not passing rate

Chicago students’ test scores increased after they were enrolled in “double-dose” algebra classes, though the policy’s impact on their grades and course failure rates was mixed, a new study has found.

Many schools around the country are trying to help struggling students by providing them with an extra period of math instruction. Introductory algebra is a particularly difficult hurdle for students, many of whom arrive in that course without the skills necessary to master the language of x and y...