David Coupland stood at the board in front of his math students at Kensington Woods High School in Howell, Michigan. He was explaining the concept of “solving an inequality.” On the board, he had written an algebraic equation: 50 = 23 + 5.2x.

“We’re going to look for a value of ‘x,’ ” he told his students, most of whom looked at least a little confused.

Coupland, who teaches math and science, is used to this kind of uncertainty. But he had a point. He had already told his students this day that he had a copy of the math placement test given by Eastern Michigan University to entering freshmen.

“Every student has to have a 17 on the ACT or pass this placement exam,” he told his students. “If you don’t pass, you go into remedial classes, then into your required (for credit) math classes.”

Oh, by the way, he added, when taking this placement test, “you’re not allowed to use a calculator.” The class groaned.

The equation Coupland had written on the board was taken from that placement test. He methodically showed test. He methodically showed the students how to solve the equation, explaining problem-solving techniques, some as simple as elementary schooltaught “guess and check,” that they could use as they progressed through subsequent equations and problems.

They needed to learn these techniques, he told them, because “things get hairy in a big hurry in math.”

Coupland was helping students realize the challenges of algebra, but he also was showing them that anyone can learn algebra if they take it one step at a time — and if they work hard.

“Algebra involves symbolic reasoning,” which involves understanding how symbols such as “x” can represent something else, he explained later.

But in eighth and ninth grade, when most students first encounter algebralevel math, “kids are on the cusp of moving from concrete to more abstract reasoning. We’re really challenging them. There can be a complete disconnect. But they have to make that transition sometimes."

Sure, he added, algebra seems hard, but mainly, students have to “accept the idea that it can take effort to learn. The big thing is you have to do math to learn math. It takes a lot of problems. They have to work hard and think hard. The biggest challenge students have is they don’t keep up with the work.” 

New Era in Math

Coupland and his students represent a common scene: A dedicated teacher and a lot of students intimidated by algebra, a subject that strikes fear in most students — and most adults, for that matter.

But the group also represents a new era in high school math in Michigan -- which is leading the pack of states with tough high school graduation requirements. The state’s new high school graduation requirements, which take effect with the class of 2011, require four years of math, including Algebra I and II.

The idea of struggling through two years of algebra — no matter what your career path is — has plenty of students and their parents sweating. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Algebra is not harder than anything else you have to learn in life,” says Anna Raleigh, director of education for Sylvan Learning Center in Brighton, Michigan, a tutoring service which has seen “an influx” of high school students who are struggling in algebra, Raleigh says.

Raleigh says certain myths contribute to algebra-phobia.

The first math myth is that people are either good or bad in math, and there isn’t much they can do about that. “People don’t believe that about reading,” she says.

Another myth is that algebra doesn’t apply to real life. Students echo the common refrain, “I’ll never use algebra.” But, Raleigh says, it applies beyond math and science careers. It is used in technical fields, statistics and graphs used in careers such as psychology, and more and more 21st century careers. As they searched for “x,” Coupland told his students that algebra is used in fields such as predicting weather, or in computer-centered jobs.

The final myth Raleigh identifies is the common student belief that “once I don’t get it, I’m bad at it.” It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We’re more willing to accept this thinking (in algebra) than we are in other areas such as eating or driving.”

Raleigh, like Coupland, believes that most students can learn math, including algebra, if they can get over their fear. “I think it just looks scary to students. But it’s a very, very psychological thing. There’s no mystery to it: It’s having a good foundation and not being afraid.

“Most students can learn algebra — and all the rest” of math, including subjects such as calculus, Raleigh insists. “I say to all students: ‘I don’t care if you don’t love algebra when you’re done’ ” with tutoring classes. “ ‘But you won’t fear it.’ ”

Some things to keep in mind: Math topics build on one another, so students who don’t learn their math facts in grade school will have trouble later on. But, Raleigh emphasizes, it’s never too late to fill in those gaps of learning.

Middle school is an especially important time to make sure students have that foundation and take steps to reinforce gaps in learning. Common problem areas are fractions, decimals, integers and what most people know as “story problems.” In the latter, a reading problem that may have gone unnoticed may surface. “We watch for that,” Raleigh says.

Coupland recommends students develop good study skills and “the homework habit. I give daily assignments.” Practice makes perfect — or at least passing grades.