Now that the state has mandated Algebra 1 for all eighth-graders within three years, a deeply entrenched problem has become even more urgent: California does not have enough qualified teachers of mathematics.
Districts recognize the problem and are doing what they can to cultivate more teachers. So are universities. The number of new math teachers emerging from colleges has been going up.
At California State University, Sacramento, for example, small but growing numbers have signed up to join the profession. Among them: Isabel Montoya, a 20-year-old from Monterey County with enough idealism to inspire the most math-averse adolescent, and Roy Baty, a 60-year-old retired school maintenance worker from Citrus Heights with an affinity for numbers and teaching.
Overall, however, the looming shortage of math teachers stands as one of the biggest challenges facing schools in coming years.
In all, nearly 100,000 teachers of all types are expected to retire in the next decade, said Margaret Gaston, president and executive director of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, a nonprofit in Santa Cruz.
According to the center, the state may need more than 33,000 new math and science teachers – two of the toughest categories to fill – at the middle and high school levels in the next decade. At least 3,000 new teachers will be needed within three years to teach eighth-grade algebra. In addition, another 1,000 current teachers of eighth-grade algebra are either underprepared or teaching "out-of-field" and will need further training.
Retraining teachers also needed
In California, becoming a teacher of Algebra 1 or higher requires that students major in math or take on a substantial body of college-level math coursework – as well as completion of credentialing requirements.
"In math, it really matters that the teacher knows the subject matter well," Gaston said. "The need is such that recruiting new teachers alone will not be enough. We also really need to retrain the teachers we have."
The call for all eighth-graders to be tested in Algebra 1 has heightened the urgency, she said.
The state Board of Education approved the new requirement a month ago. Currently, about half of all eighth-graders in California take the course – far more than in other states. But among those enrolled, just two out of five perform at a proficient level on tests. In addition, the other half of eighth-graders are still struggling with basic sixth- and seventh-grade math skills.
As a result, district leaders and principals are scrambling to train elementary teachers to make sure younger children are ready for Algebra 1 by eighth grade. And they are training and recruiting in upper grades in anticipation of more high schoolers taking more math courses.
At the same time, colleges and universities are ramping up teacher preparation programs.
The California State University system, which produces many of the state's teachers, launched its Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative three years ago. The goal is to double the annual production of math and science teachers from 750 in 2002-03 to 1,500 by 2009-10.
The effort has seen steady progress, said Joan Bissell, who directs the effort in the CSU Office of the Chancellor.
"We've had a very large increase in the number of math teachers coming out of CSU," Bissell said.
In 2002-03, the state college system produced 349 credentialed math teachers. Four years later, the number stood at 788, she said.
Bissell said she is especially encouraged by a new foundational math credential being offered in California to help meet teaching needs in middle schools. It authorizes an individual to teach Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 in the middle or high school grades. The number of people who pursue this credential has risen steadily, to 261 statewide in 2006-07.
CSUS totals are small but rising
Locally, CSUS has embraced the initiative, said Laurel Heffernan, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. For example, the university now offers a blended program where students can take teacher preparation courses while completing undergraduate work, rather than waiting until after they earn a bachelor's degree.
The CSUS numbers are small but encouraging. In 2002-03, the school produced six credentialed math teachers. In 2006-07, the number had risen to 24.
More math teachers are in the making.
Roy Baty is earning his bachelor's degree and teaching credential after retiring from maintenance work in the former Grant Joint Union High District. While taking some night courses, he discovered he enjoyed math and decided to become an educator. He will be a college senior this fall.
"I've worked around other teachers for years," Baty said. "I like the atmosphere. I like the culture."
Scott Farrand, a CSUS professor of mathematics, is involved in the efforts to develop new math teachers, as well as train existing ones. Math, he said, is one of the more challenging majors.
Among his students is Isabel Montoya, a junior math major who grew up south of Salinas in the small town of Greenfield. Her parents are farmworkers. She got hooked on math the summer before high school when an inspiring teacher prepared her to take Algebra 1.
This summer, Montoya took a job at CSUS working with incoming college freshmen interested in engineering. She is helping strengthen their critical thinking skills.
The job gave Montoya a taste of what it would be like to be a teacher.
"The first week, I was like, 'Wow, I have my own students,' " she said, beaming.
The fit, she said, was perfect: "I want to do this for the rest of my life."
Call The Bee's Deb Kollars, (916) 321-1090.