Posted on 02/08/2013 9:08:51 AM PST by lowbridge
California will no longer require eighth-graders to take algebra —a move that is line with the Common Core standards being adopted by most states, but that may leave students unprepared for college.
Last month, California formally shifted to the Common Core mathematics standards, which recommend that students delay taking algebra if they aren’t ready for it. Previously, algebra class was a requirement for all eighth-graders in the state.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is sponsored by the National Governor’s Association, is an effort to unify diverse state education curricula. Forty-five other states and the District of Columbia have signed on so far.
But some education experts worry that the change will further damage struggling students’ college chances, since early proficiency in Algebra I is an excellent predictor of college graduation, according to the Mercury News.
(Excerpt) Read more at gopthedailydose.com ...
Can we get rid of it now?
It’s likely due to the students being unable to read the story problems (shakes head).
A public school education is child abuse IMHO.
They don’t need no algeeebra....Those peoples at Walmart, H&R Block and all the other tax places will figure their ‘returns’ for them.....get that RAL (refund anticipation loan on EITC) check NOW! Don’ need to wait on no stinkeeng gubment check!
I bet everyone gets an ‘A’ in Activism though...
This is clearly cultural insensitivity towards Arabs.
Less people know the difference of two thirds or three quarters and how to solve equations, the easier for the State to steal from them ........
Yep, they’re definitely socialist indoctrination centers to the max. They’ll learn all about the joys of communism and homosexuality, and “social justice”,
but no reedin’, ritin’, or ‘rithmutic.
To be honest, I didn’t take algebra until freshman year in HS. But I completed calculus in my senior year, so I could test out in college.
That said, the 800 lb elephant in the room is race. Until education once again becomes a priority in the black and brown communities (at the family level), nothing will fix these problems.
When I was going to school in the 60s, only the brighter students were given algebra in the 8th grade. Everyone else got it in the 9th.
There was an article last week about lefties (”hipsters”) choosing to homeschool.
Perhaps they’re getting tired of having their own kids dumbed down with everyone else.
Their kids are supposed to be trained to be the “master” class, not the “slave” class.
i had lots of math in my high school. i still many times do long division and multiplication on paper to keep my brain active.
guess there isn’t a word for algebra in ebonics.
(rolling eyes)
“That said, the 800 lb elephant in the room is race”
Wasn’t Algebra the name of Stymies horse? Just askin.
It’s OK. Students can take out massive tax-payer backed loans to learn Algebra in college........maybe all kids should just go straight to college from middle school in order to get on the debt machine sooner.
Dey don’t need know no rithmatic. Dey jes keep swiping dey EBT card until it don work no mo. Den dey go to de welfare office and get mo owebama stash added to it.
Let me rephrase that.
Less people know they get less if offered three quarters of 52 than two thirds of 60, (they would think they get to keep more for three quarters) ......
All reasonable and valid criticisms of public education aside, and there are many, not every eighth grader is ready for algebra. Some percentage of children may never master algebra. Not everyone should go to college. Not every child can be above average.
It’s all part of comprehensive voter training.
If the Klu Klux Klan were to conceive a plan to keep minorities poor and ignorant, they couldn’t have come up with anything nearly as diabolical and effective as the current public school system.
“Less people know the difference of two thirds or three quarters and how to solve equations, the easier for the State to steal from them ........”
Methinks you’ve hit the nail on the head.
so is it because the students are too stupid from having not been taught in the earlier grades or can’t they find enough teachers who can teach it?
i still remember my abstract algebra teacher in 11th grade. he would sit with us after class to help. i got a B and was damn proud of it. failed the first 3 semesters of plane geometry and algebra in 9th grade even with the helop of teachers and my dad. one day it clicked. aced 4th semester, aced the final, never got anything less than a B in all future math courses. trig was a snap and i still use it.
And colleges now offer remedial classes for writing and math before the college level courses. In other words they are doing the job of the free public high schools.
Quarters?
f’ that, man... gimme dollars!
Same with me in the early 70s. You had to qualify to take 8th grade algebra with grades and an exam.
We got it in the 7th.............
Same with me in the early 70s. You had to qualify to take 8th grade algebra with grades and an exam.
“This is clearly cultural insensitivity towards Arabs.”
Actually, no, it doesn’t affect them.
Their parents, like most immigrant parents, FULLY UNDERSTAND that their kids will not learn squat if left to the public schools, so they take their education into their own hands, which is why they outrun whites.
It’s only American parents who actually still believe that kids can be educated by public schools. Even Hispanic parents know better, although many of them don’t have the background or resources to help their kids.
(BTW, moved from Indiana to Virginia in the 1970s)
Southern school systems like those in Virginia think chilluns are entirely too immature to handle algebra until 9th grade. On the other hand they require county, state and us history ~ and for kids in Northern Virginia that's the same course taken three times ~ makes for some really great docents and tourguides in the DC area BTW.
Fortunately they've given up on handwriting and moved boldly into computer keyboards.
Such “standards” do not allow childern to learn at a pace that is suited to their mental abilities. My daughter is graduating HS taking Algebra II. There was no way that she would have been ready for Algebra in the 8th grade. This is due to her being diagnosed with Ausbergers AND a every poor math system being taught in elementary called “Everyday Math”.
White and Asian people math (pronounced maff)
BTW, Arabs are white people.
So true! I taught algebra, and LOVED every minute of it! I had some 8th graders in algebra, and they were the motivated kids. The ones in pre-algebra were either unmotivated, not quite as mature as others :), or ones who struggled with math. It was a joy to see my pre-al kids do well the following year in algebra when they were convinced they would never learn it!
Oh yes, my algebra teacher in 8th grade wrote me off as stupid. My 9th grade algebra teacher MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!!!
“This is clearly cultural insensitivity towards Arabs.”
Well Algebra is an arabic derived word...
So--just extrapolating a bit here--if a student takes algebra in HS, then they're officially doomed in college? Is this coming from the same people who say your three-year old must be reading Melville or he'll NEVER amount to anything?
many of the folks who turn out to be football players are simply not terribly verbal ~ which may or may not be significant. depends on the kid.
My son took algebra in the eighth grade, but couldn’t pass the 9th grade algebra exam, so he took it again.
He’ll take it again in college, only to find out in life he won’t need it all that much unless he becomes an engineer.
I don’t think this is all that big if a deal. Not everyone is suited for college anyway.
I took algebra in high school and my first go around in college and hated every minute of it.
When I went for my second degree ( engineering related) I had to take it again in order to prepare for calculus. I LOVED it. My professor stated I wasn’t crappy in math, I just had crappy teachers.
My sin us a seventh grade math teacher and he loves it as well. Hats off to you,
Outcome based education is a live and well in Kalifornia.
Another elephant in the room is that California passed a law requiring that homosexual history be taught. So, we are dropping a useful subject such as algebra, but requiring useless teaching to honor Harvey Milk and others for their alleged contributions to our civilization. Go figure.
My Brother in Law was the Defensive Captain on the U Mass Landrey team has an MS in Bio Chemistry.
...even with the helop of teachers and my dad.
I’m glad you overcame math, how were you in spelling?
Why are you trying to make points with facts and reason? Don’t you know we’re just supposed to make fun of brown people?
Even California students need basic math.
“If you have 3 tacos, 1 stolen handgun with 2 magazines and 5 crack rocks how many things do you have?”
The world needs ditch-diggers, too.
Just because some kids cannot do algebra doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be offered to kids who can.
One big problem with American education after about eighth grade is this “one size fits all” mentality, agreed. If we were to sort kids by ability around eighth grade like most countries do, the racial disparities in the results would be politically unpalatable. So we put black and Hispanic kids into classes they cannot handle, and all this accomplishes is that they successfully disrupt the education of the kids who can learn. Everyone loses, no one wins.
Nice.
No one with lower abilities should be forced to sit through algebra.
When I was a kid we had choices in math.
The college bound had one of several levels of algebra.
The trades had business maths
and there was a general math for laborers which was a review of the previous nine years of math.
The racism of the thread is snarky.
There are a lot of contributing factors to blacks doing poorly in math.
none that we are going to fix here.
I have four black children. Three of them have done very well, two with calculus, one was considering physics but hit her wall there, as often GIRLS do.
The third will probably get through 1&2 and trig, but has no interest in going further.
The fourth is a computer, until algebra. Too abstract for those abilities.
So what?
Not everyone is a rocket scientist.
Not everyone is an abstract thinker.
One of the real downfalls of leftists is that they think that every one is like them.
What has been refreshing about conservatives has been their clearheadedness about these issues.
People are different. We don't have to insult them.
I don’t see the big deal about this. I was always good in math, but didn’t take algebra until the 9th grade. My high school math education (in the 70’s):
9th grade: algebra I
10th grade: geometry
11th grade: algebra II
12th grade: trigonometry (purely as an elective, no math required after successfully completing the preceding three years)
I made straight A’s in all math classes, and they were labeled as “enriched” classes - we didn’t have AP classes back then that would count towards college credit — we had to take tests instead. I took the test and placed out of both semesters of college algebra, went straight to calculus and made A’s as well.
As long as algebra is still available for those that want to take it in the 8th grade, this is much ado about nothing. I will say that my 8th grade math class was a waste of time, and I should have skipped it and started in on algebra I instead.
Actually, no, it doesn’t affect them.
Paladin2 was being facetious; Arabs are often credited with developing algebra. That having been said, you make some good observations. I'm happy to be able to put my child in a private (and Christian) school.
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