It was right at the adoption of NCLB. The pass/fail rate in my 9th grade algebra classes was 26/74. That's correct. And My classes were amongst the highest for 9th grade. It was a required class for every freshman student. What I found out very quickly is that it is very difficult to teach academic algebra to students who do not know how to multiply two numbers, let alone divide.
Furthermore, when a student flunked the first semester algebra, they would be enrolled in second semester algebra regardless of their grade. This was a fucking disaster for those students who managed to do well. I pleaded with the school administrators to change the policy. I spoke to the school board at public meetings. It took two years for them to change the policy.
Meanwhile, my complaints about putting students into an academic algebra curriculum with no arithmetic abilities went unheard. Because of NCLB, all students were required to take academic algebra in 9th grade and geometry in 10th grade so that they could do well in the mandatory graduation exams during 11th grade.
So they shoveled them into the meat grinder. And only about a quarter of freshman algebra students ever passed the course. Do I have to relate the experiences from the classes of the repeaters? Hopeless first time; now you have a class room full of them. There's no way you are going to get 25% through the curriculum.
We called NCLB, Blame the Teacher. I could not take the incompetence. I resigned.
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