Algebra Nation Adds $4.25M to Help Students Graduate

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Algebra Nation Adds $4.25M to Help Students Graduate

Jun 17, 2014

ADD IT UP: The Florida Legislature has awarded $2 million to Algebra Nation, a joint project from Gainesville, FL-based startup, Study Edge, and the University of Florida Lastinger Center. Launched in January 2013 (and with the same amount of funding), Algebra Nation is a free, online resource designed to help Florida high schools pass the state’s Algebra 1 End-of-Course (EOC) exam, which is a graduation requirement.

According to the release, “more than 250,000 students and 3,300 teachers in all 67 Florida districts used Algebra Nation this past school year.” (The content is aligned to “Florida Standards,” which according to some analysts is essentially the Common Core standards with a new name.) Algebra Nation’s director, Melody Pak, tells EdSurge that other states like California, Texas and Washington, have expressed interest in making the resource available in their districts.

Algebra Nation received another $2 million from the state to run a summer program in Jacksonville, FL, where according to Study Edge president, Ethan Feldman, only 30% of students passed the Algebra EOC exam. In addition, Algebra Nation also received $250,000 from the Gates Foundation in March to build a “Teacher-Development Network” where educators can share math resources and best practices. Pak says this website should be ready sometime in August.

Disclosure: EdSurge has also received support from the Gates Foundation

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