Posted on 10/28/2008 6:04:25 PM PDT by CounterCounterCulture
SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento County judge has agreed to delay a requirement that all California eighth-graders be tested in algebra.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
i can see that... not all 8th graders are at that level... they should test for basic math skills, however... everyone should enter high school with solid, basic math skills...
How long until students won’t be required to do anything to receive a public high school diploma? It’s not that far off, IMO.
vouchers
All they have to so is show-up (periodically) now. Twelve years of baby-sitting by the government and then … out on the streets. :-(
By the 8th grade?? I had fractions in the 4th, Alg.1 in the 7th and Alg. 2 in the 8th.
We're screwing our kids and the future of this Country not demanding higher math skills.
That way you don't waste their time and they are not able to bother the others.
Our local system dwadled around and managed to delay algebra to 9th and 10th grade. That's a disaster because there's no time left for a reasonably competent, but not genius student to get calculus before graduation. 8th grade algebra allows good students to advance, and th grade algebra is even better.
I’m so glad we have judges that involve themselves in every facet of our daily lives. I just don’t know how I’d function without them!
I do not think one judge should have the power to decide what is best in the entire state education system. He is by no means an expert (of course look how much the 'experts' have screwed up the school system).
My kids’ school starts algebra in 6th grade.
Between the Judges and the Lawyers they really wrack chaos.,....
i canceled my subscription to “the economist” recently,
after i learned that obamao would improve skools more than mccain!
the democrats destroyed urban public skools and are continuing to destroy urban public skools.
I learned this when one of mine entered middle school. Lasted for one month. Here's the deal: Something like 4/5 different K-5 were going into that one middle school. Each school had been using not only different types of math curriculum, using different methodologies, and LABELS. So, math class begins. 1/4 of the class has no comprehension of the terms the teacher was using. And they were the good math students from their school. Other 1/4 of the class were ESL, parts of which had been taught math in Espanol, the others in English immersion.
And I haven't even gotten to the fact that some of the schools had been using the newer math, which includes geometry and limited, but some, calculus in coursework entitled "Algebra". And that some had come from classes with maybe a grand total of one actual month of "pre-algebra" in Grade 5.
It was a mess.
The article give no indications of any of these facts, and is merely reporting the matter is a "political football".
Which, of itself is no surprise,... considering we are talking about California schools, math, and whether or not schools have been obeying laws and various regulations and benchmarks....
As a former math teacher, I can say that not all kids are ready for algebra in 8th grade.
I have a MA in math and I didn’t take Algebra I until 9th grade. I ended up taking calculus as a Sr. Plenty of time in high school to pick up the needed math classes, especially in system that use the semester block system.
I would love to see vouchers as well. It could help shape up the public system and give alternatives to all students.
“The earlier you get kids working with the symbolic logic inherent in algabraic notation the sooner you’re going to find those best able to become engineers, designers, lawyers, and so forth ~ and you can move them right out of the regular highschools into college.”
One thing that drives me crazy about math in high schools now is geometry. They have all but done away with rigorous proofs because of standardized testing. You can still learn a lot in geometry, but the proofs really developed higher order thinking skills.
that's when i started taking algebra... however, not every student was at that level... i'm sure not every sixth, seventh and eighth grader at your kids' school is ready for algebra...
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.