College students should be able to pass calculus, though.
I rather doubt that I could pass it. I attended a very selective liberal arts college and graduated with an A- average, FWIW, and I tested as gifted. I have never taken calculus, though, and had to work pretty hard to complete trig (I did get a B+, I think?) in high school.
I do use basic algebra--as in, solve for x...but my math is rusty. It's never been a strength, though it's...fine. High average. I'm not terribly quantitative. I have very little recollection of much of what is being discussed in this thread, when it comes to nuts and bolts. (Why would I? I'm a writer and editor. I really don't use math at work, though these days a passing familiarity with statistics is helpful to me. When I do use it, it's generally in a homeowner/consumer context.)
I think high school students should pass algebra, but that there should be a vo-tech algebra track, as discussed upthread. I think financial and consumer literacy is FAR more important. I do not think you should have to pass Algebra 2 to graduate from HS.
I think there should be a quantitative requirement at colleges, but that math should not required in and of itself.
