Access to Algebra
Information about Renaissance Star Testing will be shared with families in February after our winter benchmark assessment window.
Click here to view the Access to Algebra Family Information Session Deck - Available on Oct 14th
The District 97 Middle School Access to Algebra program is offered to all eligible students in Grades 5-7 to ensure a pathway to Integrated Math I (Algebra) by 8th grade. The program includes Access to Algebra Bridge Courses and the Spring Renaissance Star testing pathway. You may access the charts that include the two pathways students in grades 5-7 may select to be considered for acceleration in the area of Access to Algebra Pathways.
*Please note that if your student successfully passes through one of the Access to Algebra pathways, they will be enrolled in Integrated Math 1 for eighth grade. Integrated Math 1 is the first class in a series of courses where students are exposed to algebra, geometry, and statistical thinking. This change was made over the last two years to align with Oak Park River Forest High School’s math courses so our students would be better prepared for their high school math trajectory.
Need assistance?
Please contact UDL Director Emilie Creehan at [email protected], Director of Teaching and Learning, regarding questions about the Access to Algebra Bridge Courses. Administrative assistant Allie Foleno may be contacted at [email protected] for all registration questions.
Bridge Courses: Key Things to Know
Eligible Students
Students who are currently accelerated in mathematics are NOT ELIGIBLE for the Bridge Courses or Spring Renaissance Star pathway. Accelerated students must go through the single-subject acceleration process if they wish to double accelerate. The purpose of this program (Access to Algebra) is for students to gain access to Integrated Math I before high school. Our accelerated students already have access to this course.
Overview: Access to Algebra Bridge Courses for Grades 5-7
| DESIGNED FOR: |
Students in grades 5-7 who are seeking to advance to the next level of math instruction so they will have access to algebra before high school. |
|---|---|
| OUTCOME |
Through the bridge course, students may advance to the next level of math instruction by:
|
|
COURSES (See below for course descriptions.) |
Math 6 Bridge: Fifth-grade students seeking to test into Math 7 for sixth grade Math 7 Bridge: Sixth-grade students seeking to test into Math 8 for seventh grade Math 8 Bridge: Seventh-grade students seeking to test into Integrated Math I for eighth grade |
| WHEN/WHERE: TRIMESTER 2 & 3 |
5TH, 6TH, AND 7TH GRADE
There is NO SUMMER portion of the program this year. The entire course will take place during the school year. |
| REGISTRATION | October 14, 2025 - November 3, 2025 (4:30 p.m.). CLICK HERE to register. |
| COST | There is no cost to participate in this program. |
| ATTENDANCE |
Consistent bridge course attendance during Trimester 2 and 3 and summer sessions is essential for your student’s success. Therefore, the attendance expectation is 80% for all Bridge courses. We expect students to arrive and depart on time every day, and that families will inform the teacher if an unexpected illness or issue arises which impacts their attendance. Attendance will not prevent a student from taking the end-of-course exam. |
| PLACEMENT COMMUNICATION |
We will communicate mathematics placement for the 2026-27 school year to families in June. Please contact Brooks Principal April Moriarty at [email protected] or Julian Principal Nick Filipowski at [email protected] if you have questions regarding your student’s math placement. |
*Note about IAR: The IAR is a state-mandated assessment that determines whether or not a child has mastered grade level standards. This metric is critically important in determining academic performance for all students, particularly in the area of mathematics. In order to begin to phase in IAR as a component of math acceleration, mandated participation (not performance) will continue to be implemented this year. In subsequent years, a performance requirement will be added. IAR performance will inform, but not dictate math course placement.
Bridge Course Descriptions
The course will focus on the skills and content from Math 6. Topics covered will include:
- Understanding ratio concepts and using ratio reasoning to solve problems;
- Applying and extending previous understandings of
- multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions,
- numbers to the system of rational numbers,
- arithmetic to algebraic expressions;
- Reasoning about and solving one-variable equations and inequalities and representing and analyzing quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables.
Students who score 80% or higher on the end of course exam and participate in the 2024 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in English Language Arts/Literacy and mathematics will advance to Math 7 for the next school year. Students can expect to receive homework for this class.
The course will focus on the skills and content from Math 7. Topics covered will include:
- Analyzing proportional relationships;
- Applying and extending previous understandings of operations with fractions;
- Using properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions; and
- Solving real-life and mathematical problems using algebraic expressions and equations.
Students who score 80% or higher on the end of course exam and participate in the 2024 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in English Language Arts/Literacy and mathematics will advance to Math 8 for the next school year. Students can expect to receive homework for this class.
The course will focus on the skills and content from Math 8. Topics covered will include:
- Working with radicals and integer exponents;
- Understanding the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations;
- Analyzing and solving linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations;
- Defining, evaluating, and comparing functions;
- Using functions to model relationships between quantities; understanding congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem. Students who score 80% or higher on the end of course exam and participate in the 2024 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in English Language Arts/Literacy and mathematics will advance to Integrated Math I for the next school year. Students can expect to receive homework for this class.
Important Dates to Remember
| Access to Algebra Bridge Courses (Trimester 2 and 3) |
Dates |
|---|---|
| Registration Opens | Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
| Registration Closes |
Monday, November 3, 2025 |
| Trimester 2 and 3 Session Begins |
November 17, 2025 (5th-7th) |
| Trimester 2 and 3 Session Ends |
Tuesday, June 2, 2026 |
| End-of-Course Exam | Friday, May 22, 2026 |