CSU California Academic Partnership Program



Enrollment in High School Mathematics

Culver City High School students are required to take two years of mathematics for graduation. Prior to CAPP, about 75% of the high school students enrolled in mathematics annually. Of these students, about two-thirds enrolled in college preparatory courses (Algebra 1, Geometry, Geometry Honors, Algebra 2, Algebra 2 Honors, and Pre-Calculus) and one-third enrolled in basic courses (Algebra Readiness, Algebra Preparation, Consumer Math or Practical Math). A calculus class was not offered at the high school, and about 15 seniors took the course at West Los Angeles College annually. Typically more than 60% of the students in the basic courses earned D's or Fs, and rarely did they go on to successfully complete college preparatory classes.

In 1995-1996, as a part of the CAPP plan, all 8th graders (the targeted grade level of the CAPP project for that year) took Algebra 1. Recognizing the inconsistency of requiring all 8th graders to take an algebra course while allowing 9th graders to take a more basic course, the high school teachers decided to adopt a similar policy. Thus, beginning in 1995, no pre-algebra courses were offered at the high school. To accommodate students with special needs, one section of basic mathematics was offered to juniors and seniors (included In data), and mathematics credit was earned by a few students in Special Education (not included in data). In 1997-1998, the Culver City High School teachers decided to offer two sections of pre-algebra mathematics to accommodate students who entered the high school without the appropriate background for algebra. (New-todistrict students represent about 20% of incoming freshmen to Culver City High School.)

Figure 4 shows enrollment patterns at the high school during preCAPP (1992-1993), CAPP (1993-1996) and post-CAPP (19961998) years. Decreases in basic mathematics enrollments and increases in college preparatory mathematics enrollments are clearly evident. Furthermore, enrollment in college preparatory mathematics increased at a faster pace than total school enrollment.

Enrollment in High School
College Preparatory Math Courses

Figure 5 shows enrollment by course in college preparatory math classes at Culver City High School during pre-CAPP (1992-1993), CAPP (1993-1996) and post-CAPP (1996-1998) years. The elimination of pre-algebra classes beginning in 1995 caused the increased enrollment in Algebra 1. Three factors contributed to Algebra I enrollment in 1996-1997: 1) no pre-algebra courses were offered, 2) all students who had not successfully completed algebra in the 8th grade (target group) and 9th grade repeated the class, and 3) most incoming 9th graders enrolled in Algebra 1. 1996-1997 Geometry enrollment increases were due to successful matriculation of students from both the target group and high school population at large. The 1997-1998 enrollment spike in Algebra 2 is a direct result of the increased enrollment and successful completion of Geometry in 1996-1997 within both the target group and high school population at large. Spikes in advanced mathematics classes similar to those in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 are expected in 1998 and beyond.

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