What math concept should an 8th grader master?

Linear functions — shhh...it's pre-algebra, and they've got to get this.

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team

Bill Day teaches middle-school math in Washington, D.C. He received the 2013-14 Teacher of the Year award for the district.

Hear about a math concept he believes eighth graders should master to be successful in high school.

Video transcript

“In my eighth grade classroom, I really focus my students on understanding the concept of a function. In particular, focusing on linear functions where one quantity is related to another with some initial value and then a constant rate of change. For example, if a gym charges a registration fee of $50 and then $20 per month. If I gave that scenario to my students, I’d want them to be able to build a function that relates that registration fee as an initial value and then the monthly fee as a rate of change.”

Understanding and solving linear equations looks like this and this when an eighth grader does it.

Real-life problems look and sound like word problems. Can your eighth grader use linear equations to work them out like this?

About the author

The GreatSchools Editorial Team

GreatSchools.org is a national nonprofit with a mission to help every child obtain a high-quality education that values their unique abilities, identities, and aspirations. We believe in the power of research-backed, actionable information to empower parents, family members, and educators to help make this happen. For 25 years, the GreatSchools Editorial Team has been working to make the latest, most important, and most actionable research in education, learning, and child development accessible and actionable for parents through articles, videos, podcasts, hands-on learning resources, email and text messaging programs, and more. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers and education leaders — most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members — who not only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as well. We welcome your feedback at editorial@greatschools.org.