The purpose of this research study was to find out why marginal, secondary math students aren't successful in required math courses. Ten math teachers and 80 high school ninth and tenth grade students were surveyed, three marginal math students were interviewed, and five classrooms were observed in a qualitative study to identify why marginal students fail in secondary math courses. The focus of this study was student perceptions--what studetns had to say about, and the environment in which they are required to learn math. The results from this research suggest four components necessary for secondary marginal students to achieve success in math--middle school to high school partnering, course offerings and tracking, teaching methods, and student involvement.

The characteristics of marginal high school students and the social dynamics that create conditions in schools that lead to truancy and eventual dropping out are described as an introduction to a discussion on how to deal with the problem. Guidelines for effective programs for marginal students are delineated, and the activities and scope of six effective school programs designed to involve marginal students in school work and motivate them to remain in school are described. Cited are: (1) Reuther Education at Large (REAL); (2) Lincoln Educational Alternative Program (LEAP); (3) Paper High School (PHS); (4) School Within a School (SWS); (5) Alternative Learning Program; and (6) Academic Development Opportunity Program (ADOP). The characteristics of an effective anti-dropout program are delineated in the areas of administration and organization, teacher culture, student culture, and curriculum and instruction. Suggestions are made for planning a successful program for marginal students. (JD)

Despite great focus on and public investment in STEM education, little causal evidence connects quantitative coursework to students’ economic outcomes. I show that state changes in minimum high school math requirements substantially increase black students’ completed math coursework and their later earnings. The marginal student’s return to an additional math course is 10 percent, roughly half the return to a year of high school, and is partly explained by a shift toward more cognitively skilled occupations. Whites’ coursework and earnings are unaffected. Rigorous standards for quantitative coursework can close meaningful portions of racial gaps in economic outcomes.

Created specifically for high school mathematics teachers, this publication shows how mathematics concepts and knowledge can be used to develop economic and personal financial understandings.