The problem is that more and more jobs are requiring skills that are best acquired in post-high school programs. If kids can't even get through high school--and Algebra 1 is determined to be the barrier course--they can't move on to an Associate's degree in an area they CAN complete studies for.

I don't think anyone is talking about changing Ivy League institutions (or their peers outside the Ivies) to lower their academic entrance requirements. However, if a student who has studied plumbing at his local vo-tech program and wants to get the next stage of certification so he can get a higher paying plumbing job drops out of high school because of Algebra 1, there might be a better solution from adjusting high school graduation requirements rather than adding to the roles of drop outs who already can't get the higher paying plumbing jobs.