The idea behind delaying algebra is that if you teach math more slowly, the people who do worst in math will be able to progress somewhat further because they h

The idea behind delaying algebra is that if you teach math more slowly, the people who do worst in math will be able to progress somewhat further because they have more time to drill and repeat things. Someone who would have received an F in algebra in 8th grade might be able to scrape a D+ if they spend a year preparing and then take it in 9th grade. Empirically, they did indeed see a greater percentage of people passing algebra when they delayed it by a year. Of course, they also saw fewer people taking AP Calculus, since the slower pace of education meant that fewer people had the prerequisites in time. So the big question is, why make everybody take the slow track? Why not offer the option of 8th grade algebra to students who are ready for it? As far as I can tell from listening to advocates, it actually is the Harrison Bergeron thing, but with a twist: the achievement gaps that they're trying to narrow have strong correlations with race and class, which makes closing those gaps almost a sacred cause. And that typically is where the arguments stop, in much the way that a mathematical proof stops when you say "QED".