On May 12, 10:08=A0pm, Ablang <ron...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Despite high school algebra focus, more students need remedial college
> math
> By Deb Kollars - dkollars at sacbee.com
> Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, May 12, 2008
>
> Five years ago, California took a bold step and began requiring
> algebra of every graduating high school senior. The grumbling ran
> deep. The work was hard. The underlying equation came through loud and
> clear:
>
> More math in high school would equal more students prepared for
> college.
>
> For many, it hasn't added up.
>
> In a pattern that has area math professors scratching their heads,
> some community colleges are seeing an increase in the numbers and
> pro****tions of entering students who can't do algebra, or even basic
> arithmetic.
They should read "The Bell Curve" or Charles Murray's recent essay
"The age of educational romanticism: On requiring every child to be
above average"
by Charles Murray
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/The-age-of-educational-romanticism-=
3835.
Most people are not smart enough to go to college, but they can be
productive members of society. People who have not mastered algebra
should not be in college in the first place.
>
> At Sierra College in Rocklin, for example, of the 199 sections of math
> being taught this year, 68 of them =96 34 percent =96 are arithmetic,
pre-=
> algebra or beginning algebra. Most students seeking a two-year or four-
> year degree must master those levels of math and in many cases go
> beyond.
>
> Five years ago, the percentage of remedial math courses at Sierra was
> 28 percent.
>
> Last year at Cosumnes River College in Elk Grove, 40.8 percent of
> incoming students who took a math placement exam tested into
> arithmetic or pre-algebra, up from 38.1 percent two years earlier. The
> pro****tion of courses in beginning algebra, pre-algebra and arithmetic
> at Cosumnes has marched steadily upward, from 43 percent in 2003 to
> almost 52 percent this year.
>
> "It's the million-dollar question," said Mary Martin, math department
> chair at Cosumnes. "We are asking more of our high school students, so
> why isn't it transferring over to college?"
I bet that most of the people struggling with high school math in
college never actually learned it in high school. The article does not
mention what scores were achieved on the math SAT by the people
struggling with math in college. Those scores would explain the
mystery.
<snip>
>
> Response falls short
>
> California high schools have responded to the monumental task of
> getting students through algebra, Martin and other math professors
> say, but the push is falling short.
>
> It has educators concerned because algebra is considered a key subject
> for developing critical thinking skills.
It's more likely that people who cannot grasp algebra are limited in
"developing critical thinking skills" because they are not that
smart..
> It provides the language and
> foundation for numerous fields, from nursing to the sciences to
> architecture.
> One of the biggest reasons for the large wave of college students
> behind in algebra is timing. If a student takes algebra as an eighth-
> or ninth-grader, it often means arriving at a community college or
> state college with several years separating their last encounter with
> x and y.
>
> "You have to keep practicing your skills or they diminish," said
> Michael Kane, interim dean of sciences and mathematics at Sierra
> College.
A motivated student can do this on his own. I took calculus in 10th
grade and got a 5 on the AP Calculus exam, level AB. My high school
did not offer any math beyond calculus, so I did not take any math
courses for the next two years. Realizing that I would need to be
sharp in math to major in physics, I prepared for the Calculus BC exam
on my own in 12th grade and got a 5.
<snip>
> http://www.sacbee.com/101/v-print/story/930410.html
Another version is http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/930410.html
According to the article, entering college students are having trouble
with questions such as these:
6/7 * 42 =3D?
-5 * ((-2)*(-3) + 9) =3D?
(2*x^2*y) * (-x^3) * (y^2) =3D?
Students who cannot handle the first two questions are unqualified to
enter an academic junior high school (grades 7-9), and those who
cannot handle the last should not be entering an academic high school
(grades 10-12). Otherwise their time and the taxpayer's money is being
wasted.
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