Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Is Algebra Necessary?

::scuffing toe::
When I first got my RN (AD program), chemistry wasn't required at all. Math was the same class, essentially, that they taught the 9th graders who couldn't pass algebra.


::applause::

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.

I forget what the statistics were on state university students and how many were rquired to take remedial courses on entry. I'll go with the scientific term "boatloads".
Purely anecdotally, I will say that our local junior college has a higher percentage of students taking remedial math on entry (a course preparatory to college-lite algebra) than not taking it. With that in mind, I think the goal aimed for by making geometry and algebra 2 mandatory is probably not so much mastery as statistical sleight-of-hand in the School Grading arena.

Maybe the real problem is that most of those higher paying jobs actually require the skills learned in Algebra 1. My question is-- if being a highly paid plumber doesn't require a basic high school education, then why would anyone insist that candidates for journeyman programs have a diploma?

Math-phobic or not, I think that JonLaw's point is a good one-- most people are capable of learning (up to some point, at least) what they are highly motivated to learn.

There is an alternate route to Vo/Tech education at community colleges, and in many cases, work experience will stand in for educational ones. A G.E.D. has no particular course requirements, so there is an alternative minimum.

Algebra 1 isn't that hard. In all of my years of teaching, I really only ran into a couple of students who truly weren't capable of going there. (Those were some sad, sad, sad office visits involving a lot of kleenex, by the way; those kids really didn't belong in college at all.)

It would have been better for those few kids to have known how limited they were before leaving high school, honestly.

I'm trying to think of an occupation that does NOT require the knowledge of basic Algebra 1, and I can't think of one. Basically even being an adult homemaker, childcare provider, or anything else as an independent adult requires some basic algebra and applied consumer math.

There's no other way to understand pricing, critically evaluate credit-card or loan agreements, comparison shop, or understand government spending/budgeting. (Well, okay... understanding government spending may be a reach. Nobody understands it. LOL)

Being able to calculate expenses and determine ordering quantities or make estimates on a job are all algebra skills. Now, should we be teaching "calculus-track" algebra and also "vo-tech track" algebra? OF COURSE.

My point is that basic citizen-level numeracy has moved to be more demanding, though. I do not think that the barrier is a single class. The real barrier is the knowledge.

I'll just briefly mention that I believe it's important to keep Algebra 1 as a requirement for high school graduation, as well as (jmo) I believe it's a level of math that the majority of people *can* succeed at. I won't go any deeper into philosophy or debate

I did want to add one thing that I think hasn't been mentioned, in support of requiring all students to take Algebra. There are kids who don't get excited or turned on by math in elementary school that *do* discover math is interesting and fun once they get to Algebra - I've known a few kids who went into Algebra kicking and screaming and truly believing they weren't "math-brains" who all of a sudden started to "get math". Even in my own school experience, I was always good at math but never really thought much about it until I took Algebra, started seeing the real-world connections, and that's where my love of math took off.

polarbear

While I don't think it's unreasonable for the majority of HS students to take and pass the classes that have been discussed, as with most subjects related to public education there is a one size fits all thought pattern that all too often holds back many be they low ability, average, or high ability.

Perhaps the solution is in taking a page out of the college notebook and offering diplomas with different requirements (majors) or a HS diploma (basic), another with honors, another with honors and distinction.

Yes, other countries do that. It makes sense.

It would also be reasonable to offer different math courses: basic algebra and honors algebra, basic geometry and honors geometry, etc., as is often done with English classes.

I don't believe you need to be particularly smart to be able to do algebra. The fact that so many students cannot reach this very low bar is a big problem, in my opinion. I think the problem starts in elementary school. My kids did virtually no math at all from Pre-K until 2nd grade - yet in the same time they were required to read, write and have a very basic grasp of spelling. Starting in second grade they did 40 minutes of math three times per week (no homework given). One of those days was spent doing "math based games", which included checkers, chess, knot games etc. The remainder of the academic time was spent on literacy based activities. Kids are just not doing enough math in the early years to set them up for success later.

I am also a University professor. We are having a discussion about dropping the calculus requirement for the same reason. Kids just cannot pass it.

I think there are parts of algebra I that are tough forthe uninitiated. The different varieties of rate*time=distance word problems aren't trivial. Related rates problems also aren't trivial. Nor is multiplying or dividing long polynomials/polynomial fractions. Etc. The basics are easy enough, though.

College students should be able to pass calculus, though.

New York state has long offered a Regents Diploma. Quoting Wikipedia,

"Regents Examinations are statewide standardized examinations in core high school subjects required for a Regents Diploma in New York State. In the past, Regents Diplomas were optional and typically offered for college bound students. In recent years graduation requirements have been made more stringent, and currently all students are required to receive a Regents Diploma, and therefore most students, with some limited exceptions, are required to take the Regents Examinations. To graduate, students are required to have earned appropriate credits in a number of specific subjects by passing year-long or half-year courses, after which they must pass Regents Examinations in some of the subject areas. For higher achieving students, a Regents with Advanced Designation and Honors designations are also offered."

Barron's publishes many study guides for the Regents exams, which can be found on Amazon by searching (for example) "regents algebra". They are inexpensive either new or used and get mostly good reviews.