Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies.
Locked on 12/14/2022 9:10:48 PM PST by Jim Robinson, reason:

Flame wars



Skip to comments.

University System Weighs Gutting Math Standards After Students Keep Failing Algebra
Tennessee Star ^ | 12/13/2022 | Alexa Schwerha

Posted on 12/13/2022 3:57:49 AM PST by DFG

The Kansas Board of Regents is considering stripping specific university math requirements after it was found that a significant percentage of college freshmen fail algebra, NPR affiliate KCUR reported.

The Regents, who oversee the system’s six public universities, are considering implementing the Math Pathways approach which matches students to a math course based on their major instead of mandating algebra for all incoming students. While many universities require that all freshmen pass algebra as a prerequisite for graduation, one in three Kansas students reportedly fail the course, which could delay a student’s graduation.

Daniel Archer, vice president of academic affairs for the Kansas Board of Regents, said that algebra is not always necessary for many students. Only 20 percent of majors require higher-level math beyond algebra, KCUR reported.

“We’re sending the majority of students down the college algebra road, which is really not necessary,” Archer said. “It’s not practical. It’s not really needed. And it’s not relevant for their fields.”

he Math Pathways approach offers students the option of taking alternatives to algebra such as statistics and quantitative reasoning, according to its 2018 brief. Its summary claims that algebra is a “gatekeeper to higher education for students not majoring in a math-heavy field.”

(Excerpt) Read more at tennesseestar.com ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: algebra; brooklyncollege; college; kansas; laurierubel; math; mathematics; newyork; newyorkcity; pathway
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-155 next last
To: Travis McGee

Is that a Roman rod or Imperial?

Also, is the swallow laden or unladen?


81 posted on 12/13/2022 6:16:45 AM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: rarestia

Demographics.

I went to university just about 10 years ago.
Math classes had fewer and fewer people as we escalated up.
College Algebra, Trigonometry, Pre-Calc, Calc I, II, & III, Differential Equations, Abstract Algebra, Boolean Algebra, and engineering courses which were Math based.

The classes were vastly white male, with a group of international Asian students.


82 posted on 12/13/2022 6:29:50 AM PST by EEGator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: southernerwithanattitude
66 years old, Master Plumber for 45 years and can honestly say I have never used Algabra for anything!

Yes, you have, or you'd have never been able to plan a job or bill for materials.

83 posted on 12/13/2022 6:29:53 AM PST by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: southernerwithanattitude
I guess you only needed to know three things:
  1. Hot on left, cold on right
  2. Sh!t runs down hill
  3. Payday is on friday.

84 posted on 12/13/2022 6:43:25 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: DFG

I don’t suppose it occurred to them to teach ‘em algebra.


85 posted on 12/13/2022 6:45:41 AM PST by Savage Beast (Americans DESPISE the corrupt elites, their media toadies and their corruption of the US government!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

I failed Math 105 at FSU and finally passed with a “D” on the second go around after extensive tutoring by my roommate who took Trigonometry for a quick “A”. Later I had to help her pass Government 107 which I hardly bothered to go to class for and still got a “ B”. I got one “C” in the Master’s program. Statistics”. Calculators were the best invention evah! 😉


86 posted on 12/13/2022 6:45:43 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jpsb
X + 2 = 12

Anyone that can't solve for X is a complete dumba$$.

87 posted on 12/13/2022 6:46:04 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Algebra teaches kids to think logically.


88 posted on 12/13/2022 6:48:55 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC

The problem with the uneducated simpletons, ones that can’t do basic math, is they don’t know how stupid they are.


89 posted on 12/13/2022 6:50:50 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: RoosterRedux

maff is hard yo


90 posted on 12/13/2022 6:59:56 AM PST by changeitback440
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: DFG

The dumbing down of America is getting worse. Next, the Dems will cancel school completely.


91 posted on 12/13/2022 7:02:13 AM PST by chopperk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fedupjohn

“I graduated High School in 1975. I had already taken Pre-Calculus & Trigonometry.”

I graduated high school in 1977:

9th grade — Algebra
10th grade — Geometry/Pre-Calculus
11th grade — Trigonometry/AP Calculus I
12th grade — Statistics/AP Calculus II


92 posted on 12/13/2022 7:10:37 AM PST by Labyrinthos
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: lump in the melting pot
Pre-algebra 7th grade, Algebra 8th grade. Mid ‘80’s. What the hell happened to this country?

This will be the subject of much study in future generations. Some yet-to-born Gibbon will write a large volume on the decline of western civilization.

93 posted on 12/13/2022 7:11:57 AM PST by Blennos
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: NorthMountain; southernerwithanattitude

southernerwithanattitude: “Master Plumber for 45 years”

NorthMountain:
“1) This article is about people in college, a category which does not include you. With all due respect, your experience is not relevant.

2) Algebra requires (and teaches) abstract, logical thinking. People who cannot think logically and in the abstract are really unfit for self-governance.

3) I have found knowledge of languages other than English useful for two reasons. Such knowledge provides insight into the origins and correct meaning of English words. Such knowledge has also given some insight into cultures other than my own, and an understanding of why some people do the things they do. If this is of no value to you, personally, that’s fine. But again, College (and even High School) isn’t for everybody.”

With zero respect to you: You are full of sh*t, and you are not a college graduate. You do not understand Algebra nor college. You place college on a pedestal where it does not belong. Algebra is a teenager course, not a college course. College starts at Calculus I, Differential Calculus. Only the liberal arts degrees, created to satisfy liberals, teach High School level courses like Algebra. Remedial math courses like Algebra taught in a college means the students are not qualified to be in college. The dumbing down of America started in colleges, and courses like Algebra being taught in college is all we need to know.

For your edification, since you obviously are without an education, a master plumber uses more Algebra, and other math forms, in a single day than you and 99% of the people use all year. You owe ‘southernerwithanattitude’ an apology for your ignorant insults.

You claim in your second stupid point that only those people who do Algebra are fit for self-governance. The founding fathers of this nation would knock you off your high horse.

You talk like such a stupid little girl I think I probably have more years of education in math and sciences than you have been alive.

CodeToad, PhD.


94 posted on 12/13/2022 7:13:43 AM PST by CodeToad (No Arm up! They have!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Field hands in a Workers Paradise don’t need algebra.


95 posted on 12/13/2022 7:25:23 AM PST by Ignatz (Winner of a prestigious 1960 Y-chromosome award!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DFG

Typical dimmocommie way of dealing with failure; eliminate the standards. How does that help our society? It just degenerates into a bunch of shambling drooling morons without any usable skills.


96 posted on 12/13/2022 7:36:25 AM PST by EinNYC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: djpg

Very good points.

We would be better off having a general agreement on what a university should be about. With “free” government money available, what we currently call “universities “ will continue to lower their standards to get the money.

State legislatures need the backbone to set basic standards for universities versus trade schools. Today’s “university degree” is already virtually worthless. This sort of standard-lowering is destroying it further. Maintaining a university system has become a waste of state tax money.


97 posted on 12/13/2022 7:39:53 AM PST by Cincinnatus.45-70 (What do DemocRats enjoy more than a truckload of dead babies? Unloading them with a pitchfork!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: DFG

You don’t downgrade to stupid. If the kids are not college material, then it’s adios.


98 posted on 12/13/2022 7:41:21 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fedupjohn

Same here. After I got the knack of geometry thermos, math was easy.


99 posted on 12/13/2022 7:45:07 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: DFG
“We’re sending the majority of students down the college algebra road, which is really not necessary,” Archer said. “It’s not practical. It’s not really needed. And it’s not relevant for their fields.”
So says a man, VP Academic Affairs, who clearly has not done the math. If he did, he'd realize that four years of gender studies plus low pay = bad math.
100 posted on 12/13/2022 7:50:59 AM PST by nicollo ("I said no!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-155 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson