Replies

I homeschooled my son using Saxon Math. We went through Alg II with Saxon and then when he was 15 he took the College Placement (because our county has a program called dual enrollment and a High School student can take college classes and get credit, tuition is free.)

Anyway, when he came out from the test they told me his math scores had placed him in College Alg. which he took this past semester and he pulled an A.

Everything in College Alg. seemed to be a review of what he had covered in Alg. II.

The point of all this is to ask: have they lowered what the standards of what is taught in college math classes or is College Algebra basically a review of Alg II?

The point of all this is to ask: have they lowered what the standards of what is taught in college math classes or is College Algebra basically a review of Alg II?

Seriously, Algebra is Algebra. College Algebra is a sum of Alg. 1 & 2...that's it. College Algebra is also the most failed course at most colleges across the country. It is so bad at my university that they are beginning to offer a watered down math class for non technical degrees ("foundations" or something like that).

>> The point of all this is to ask: have they lowered what the standards of what is taught in college math classes or is College Algebra basically a review of Alg II?

My wife and I home school as well ... we both have degrees in mathematics and computer science, thus we stress math and science in our household. Personally I have done significant research in math curricula and I am currently developing one from scratch. The short answer to your question is many colleges have lowered the standards of what is taught in college math classes. They have also lowered the standards of what is expected of students entering science and engineering majors. This varies from college to college. MIT for instance requires students to take calculus or place out of calculus their first freshman term. However, most colleges have general math and algebra courses. Anyone with average intelligence, motivation, and a good teacher can master algebra by their early high school years.