Inside her fifth-grade classroom at Brandon Elementary School, teacher Jill Carlson sees her students slumped in their chairs ...

Hannah Moulton teaches Algebra 1. But before her 9th graders get started on graphing linear functions or solving quadratic equations, she makes sure that they have a much more basic skill down pat.

In math, Algebra 1 is a make-or-break course. The class is the gateway to high school math, and struggling to complete it can close off those higher-level pathways—and even jeopardize students’ ...