University of Delaware
09/28/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Solving for x
Solving for x
Article by Jessica Henderson Photo by iStock and courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and Katelyn Zimmerman September 28, 2026
UD Associate Professor Erica Litke works to close algebra achievement gap in Philadelphia
Here's a tricky word problem:
Schools introduce algebra earlier. More students get access to the course. Educators devote years to addressing timing and equity barriers.
And yet, only 22% of 12th graders nationwide score at or above proficiency in mathematics.
Solve for x: What's missing?
University of Delaware Associate Professor Erica Litke believes the answer may lie not only in when students take Algebra, or even who gets access to it, but in something more fundamental.
"The arguments about timing, access and equity are important, but they leave the actual teaching of algebra unaddressed," said Litke, who studies mathematics education in UD's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). "We have to attend to how it's being taught."
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