In math, Algebra 1 is a make-or-break course. The class is the gateway to high school math, and struggling to complete it can close off those higher-level pathways—and even jeopardize students’ ...

I talked this weekend to a mother whose son is struggling in algebra II. Why, she asked, does he have to take it? He wants to be a sports promoter but is being forced to take the same rigorous math as ...