Originally Posted by Ellipses
I do not wish for all high school students to take Algebra. This dumbs down the classes. Students are usually passed through these courses (here anyway). They are appalled when they are placed in a basic math course in community college. "I passed Algebra; Why am I here again?".

Because students who fail placement tests at the community college graduate at much lower rates than those who pass, some advocate using high school GPAs instead for placement. But what does a passing grade in high school algebra
signify if one cannot pass an algebra test?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/e...ny-to-remedial-classes-studies-find.html
Colleges Misassign Many to Remedial Classes, Studies Find
By TAMAR LEWIN
New York Times
February 28, 2012
Two new studies from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College have found that community colleges unnecessarily place tens of thousands of entering students in remedial classes — and that their placement decisions would be just as good if they relied on high school grade-point averages instead of standardized placement tests.

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