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I am a private tutor in Algebra II. I have found that success in factoring 2nd degree polynomials can be improved by teaching students a simple procedure. Say one wants to factor 180. Start with 1 and 180 as factors. Double the 1 and halve 180. You now have two factors 2 and 90. One can repeat this process using doubles and halves or triples and thirds etc. Using triples and thirds on 2 and 90 yields 6 and 30. I would recommend that elementry teachers introduce this technique in the 5th or 6th grade and then it can be used for good purpose by Algebra I and II students. Several of my students were surprised that one can do this. Here is a breakdown of 1 and 180:

1 180
2 90
3 30
4 45
5 36
6 30
10 18
9 20
15 12 etc. In factoring one looks for sums and difference considering that the factors can be either negative or positive.