Notes from the Educational Trenches

Bringing Honesty into Education

Notes from the Educational Trenches

Dumbing, dumbinger, dumbingest!

Is Algebra an Unnecessary Stumbling Block in US Schools?

Who needs algebra?

That question muttered by many a frustrated student over the years has become a vigorous debate among American educators, sparked by a provocative new book that argues required algebra has become an unnecessary stumbling block that forces millions to drop out of high school or college.

“One out of 5 young Americans does not graduate from high school. This is one of the worst records in the developed world. Why? The chief academic reason is they failed ninth-grade algebra,” said political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of “The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions.”

Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argues that, at most, only 5 percent of jobs make use of algebra and other advanced math courses. He favors a curriculum that focuses more on statistics and basic numbers sense and less on (y – 3)2 = 4y – 12.

“Will algebra help you understand the federal budget?” he asked.

Many U.S. educators, including the architects of the Common Core standards, disagree, saying math just needs to be taught more effectively. It’s fine for students to have quantitative skills, they say, but algebra is important, too.

“Every study I’ve ever seen of workers in whole bunches of fields shows that you have to understand formulas, you have to understand relationships,” said Philip Uri Treisman, a professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas. “Algebra is the tool for consolidating your knowledge of arithmetic.”

Bill McCallum, a professor at the University of Arizona who played a lead role in developing the Common Core standards for math, said he would oppose any division of K-12 students into an algebra track and a non-algebra track.

“You might say only a certain percentage of kids will go on to use algebra, but we don’t know which kids those are,” he said.

 

 

There’s more to this article but I thought I’d throw the gist of it out for reader perusal.

I must admit I feel conflicted as I read this article. I’d say the article captures a huge American, educational dilemma in a nutshell. I have taught high school and middle school math. I love algebra, and I always did. I want to share algebra. That desire may not always be in my students’ best interests, however.

Failing 9th grade algebra does seem to be an excellent predictor for high school failure. Failing middle school math and English are also great predictors. Kids who don’t understand their math and English classes tend to leave school early. Those who stay often become part of the class of functionally illiterate graduates whose high school degrees do not net them the same benefits that academically stronger graduates receive.

I am going to go out on that proverbial limb here, and say that Andrew Hacker may have a point. High school algebra may precipitate some high school failures. The gut response to this fact may be to say, “Well, then teach them algebra!” To put this response into a commonly heard phrase, “Raise the bar!”

If merely raising the bar worked, I believe No Child Left Behind would have worked.

Eduhonesty: The idea of putting every child into college-preparatory classes may sound good, but that track has failed many children, those children who don’t understand how to manipulate the “x” and “y” terms we throw at them. Forcing algebra and other high school mathematics classes on all of our students does not seem to be working. We should at least consider the possibility that the “Make them learn it!” strategy may not work. Our college track may be toxic for some students.

Finland and Germany have well-developed vocational tracks. We need to start looking at what we can do to create realistic vocational education.

When I thought up the headline for this post, I was reacting to the dumbing down of American education, but I shifted my position as I wrote. I’m not happy about simpler math and SATs with fewer vocabulary words. But I am willing to consider Andrew Hacker’s viewpoint. I can see where we may be creating failures by throwing some kids into fights they cannot win.

We have reached the point where many districts only offer a college-track program, in a time when we are importing skilled machinists and suffering shortages of skilled tradespeople. In the meantime, student loan debt has climbed to $1.3 trillion dollars. The dumbing down of America’s educational landscape certainly ought to remain a concern, but I might give the vote for “dumbingest” to an educational system that is funneling everyone into the same classes without regard for either students’ interests or abilities.