Is Algebra Necessary?

New York Times ^ | July 28, 2012 | ANDREW HACKER

[reaganaut1]

A TYPICAL American school day finds some six million high school students and two million college freshmen struggling with algebra. In both high school and college, all too many students are expected to fail. Why do we subject American students to this ordeal? I’ve found myself moving toward the strong view that we shouldn’t.

My question extends beyond algebra and applies more broadly to the usual mathematics sequence, from geometry through calculus. State regents and legislators — and much of the public — take it as self-evident that every young person should be made to master polynomial functions and parametric equations.

There are many defenses of algebra and the virtue of learning it. Most of them sound reasonable on first hearing; many of them I once accepted. But the more I examine them, the clearer it seems that they are largely or wholly wrong — unsupported by research or evidence, or based on wishful logic. (I’m not talking about quantitative skills, critical for informed citizenship and personal finance, but a very different ballgame.)

This debate matters. Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent. In the interest of maintaining rigor, we’re actually depleting our pool of brainpower. I say this as a writer and social scientist whose work relies heavily on the use of numbers. My aim is not to spare students from a difficult subject, but to call attention to the real problems we are causing by misdirecting precious resources.

The toll mathematics takes begins early. To our nation’s shame, one in four ninth graders fail to finish high school. In South Carolina, 34 percent fell away in 2008-9, according to national data released last year; for Nevada, it was 45 percent. Most of the educators I’ve talked with cite algebra as the major academic reason.

[BobL]

“...where the maths came into play...”

A little British lingo, for those of you in Rio Linda.

[wintertime]

Yep, and employers are no longer allowed to give aptitude tests
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Employers could use the SAT and ACT scores.

As it is now, the quality of college graduates is so unpredictable, that many employers are demanding internships before hiring.

[ex-snook]

"Yep, and employers are no longer allowed to give aptitude tests"

Are intelligence tests also ruled out or are they considered aptitude tests? [there used to be programmer aptitude tests as well as IQ tests in the fifties]

[Fire_on_High]

I’m definitely a terribad when it comes to math, but wouldn’t ordinary long division suffice there?

[9YearLurker]

The closer you get to intelligence tests, the worse trouble you’re in. And I’d presume programming aptitude largely comes from intelligence?

The Holder Justice Department is pressing harder for employers to show that even the academic credentials they largely have used as proxies for intelligence must now show that they are more closely related to the actual requirements of the work.

I guess a ‘programming aptitude test’ at least had the right name to suggest such a correlation!

But as hard as we want to bash business for looking to hire trained employees, rather than take on high-potential trainees and provide the training themselves, we should recognize that hiring by accumulated skill is about the only safe hire in this environment.

[stormer]

In this case division is the operation by which you find the value; algebra is how you phrase the question. Without understanding the relationship between the variables (algebra), you can't solve the problem using arithmetic.

[BobL]

“Employers could use the SAT and ACT scores...As it is now, the quality of college graduates is so unpredictable, that many employers are demanding internships before hiring.”

Yep, and my boss has said exactly that if I want him to consider my oldest kid. I guess he’s been burned enough by now.

[Dust in the Wind]

Never was good at algebra. Just a dumb question here. In solving the area of a triangle is a=1/2bh equal to a=1/2hb equal to a=bh/2 ?

[Chode]

looks like... but in truth i never know when i'm using it like i do when i know i'm doing a trig problem etc as i don't need pencil and paper or a calculator or a program to get the answer where in algebra class it was all pencil and paper

[ex-snook]

Thanks for post. "The closer you get to intelligence tests, the worse trouble you’re in. And I’d presume programming aptitude largely comes from intelligence?"

Logic would be a good aptitude for the programmer test but perhaps not a qualification to hold public office. {:-)

Of interest is today's statement that 'employers can't find qualified workers' when they can't test.

[BobL]

“but in truth i never know when i’m using it (Algebra)”

Yea, I saw that in your later posts. I agree. When it’s embedded in us, we simply don’t know we’re using it. Trig is definitely different, since we’re looking at sines and cosines, etc. But Algebra doesn’t own any symbols (other than, maybe, “x”, but we don’t even need to think about “x” when doing those problems).

[Skepolitic]

People shouldn’t get a student loan until they can demonstrate those capabilities.

[JCBreckenridge]

“By the way, given that you are so smart how can you stand being surrounded with ignorance?”

I like eating.

[Vendome]

I know! LOL
But, the actual Algebra classes were all theoretical and about problem solving. Thing is 99% of the equations couldn’t be used for anything.

It was all about achieving a number.

Useless......For me....

[JCBreckenridge]

Yeah, that’s transitivity.

It doesn’t matter what order you do it in.

1/2 x b x h = b x 1/2 x h = b x h x 1/2 = h x 1/2 x b = h x b x 1/2.

Think of it like a scale. You’ve got six weights, two are b, two are h, and two are 1/2.

B, H and 1/2 all weigh the same, it doesn’t matter what order you put them on.

[CityCenter]

I took self-guided Algebra in college and finished the course early with an “A.” I struggled through statistics because I had a teacher who should never have been in a class room. Finally had to ignore him and teach myself through the course, got a “B-” and was happy to get it.

Good teachers and curriculum make all the difference.

[Reily]

Well she is smart but primarily she is a very conscientious student! She would tell you that she just works harder then everyone else. One thing I have noticed regarding her she is very well organized when it comes to studying. Something I wasn’t when I was her age. She would say she does well because she works at it not because of any innate exceptional ability. Then she will claim that the average college student puts in so little effort, that any serious effort puts you way above them!

You should hear her chemistry TA stories!

[Myrddin]

You can’t achieve equality of outcome until the requirements are dumbed down to the least able student. Screw that. The schools are aiming to produce a shitty product. Defy them. Run circles around those union nitwits warming seats at the head of the classroom.

[Dust in the Wind]

Thank you. I remembered that area as 1/2 ??? and then saw in reading the first part of Lockharts Lament that if you box a rectangle inside its base line and height line its area is always one half that rectangles area. This would be no matter the shape of the triangle. My teachers may have taught this but years later I got why the 1/2. Go figure...I drive big rigs for a living; I do calculus and trig in my head all day long to survive.

[wintertime]

I like eating.
^^^^^^^^^^^

With all your brilliance you couldn’t find honorable work? Really?