<p>The state that started a trend by making high school students tackle algebra II is now abandoning the policy in a move praise by school districts for affording more flexibility. But some policy experts are nervous because nearly 20 states have followed Texas' lead in requiring the vigorous course.</p>
<p>But critics say Texas — often watched for education policy — is watering down its standards. They note that test scores and graduation rates have improved since the tougher curriculum was adopted in 2006.</p>
<p>That's prompting some education groups to keep close tabs on other states because Texas' classroom policy can have national implications. The state's heavy reliance on tougher standardized testing under then-Gov. George W. Bush became the model for the federal No Child Left Behind law. Texas' textbook market is so large that edits made for its classrooms can affect books sold nationwide.</p>
<p>The new changes still require algebra II for honors diplomas, which can ensure automatic admission to Texas public universities, or for diploma plans focusing on science, technology, engineering and math courses, or STEM.</p>
<p>MI is one of those states.
I hope we drop it, too. Some students just cannot do Alg 2. Period. Substitute a math class that is actually going to help most people in life like a practical math class. I mean really, what’s going to help you more- being able to find an angle or knowing how to balance a checkbook?</p>
<p>I would have liked more emphasis on stats, too, because I took almost no stats until college and as it turned out stats was the only college math course I needed to take. I’m a college grad now and have never taken calc or gotten anything but a rough introduction to trig. Apparently no harm done. </p>
<p>We had algeostat when I was in school, which they have since done away with now for probably good reasons, but I know I limped through sophomore year math and then failed junior year math and had to just stop taking math at that point. I had to take a computer programming course to make up the half math credit I missed from failing and then didn’t take math senior year. If four years of math had been required I am afraid I would have had to drop out. Funny to think that one class can make the difference between a HS drop out and a umich graduate.</p>
<p>America already has a problematic disparity between the achievements of the children of higher income parents, and the children of lower income parents. I would bet that the same parents that want this requirement dropped are the same ones that complain when higher income students score better on the SAT. This change will only exacerbate that disparity. </p>
<p>America is already doing poorly in math compared to the rest of the world. Now we have decided that instead of raising the bar and working harder, we will just give up and lower the bar? Math ability is a skill in short supply. You need it for many high demand jobs like engineer, and computer scientist. When more businesses move overseas, because that is where they find employees that have these skills that Americans think are too much effort to learn, we will probably complain about that too. </p>
<p>I can understand waiving this requirement for certain kids that have specific circumstances that make this requirement unreasonable, but I do not see any reason that it should not be required for most students.</p>
<p>This has been pretty debunked. We’re doing poorly on a whole, yes, but our top is still competitive with the top around the world. </p>
<p>No one is “giving up” would you rather having a high school drop out or a high school graduate that took Alg 1, Geometry, and a practical math course? </p>
<p>I don’t know if this is the average experience in the state, but at my (Texas) public school, regulars Algebra II was poorly taught and like 80% of the class failed (of course there are a million ways to get away with it and still somehow get the P), I didn’t really feel like I learned anything in that class and tbh the first semester of Pre-Calc was literally just Algebra II repeated at a faster pace. (And if someone isn’t advanced enough to take Pre-Calc after Algebra II they probably won’t be using Algebra II at any point in their lives, academically or personally, ever.)</p>
I agree with you that balancing a checkbook is more important than finding an angle, that is why they teach you addition and substraction in 5th grade, or is it 4th grade ?
In everyday life, many people do not use 95% of what they learn in school, math, physics, geography, music, government …
Most people could just drop out of high school, what is the point of going ? What should you learn ?</p>
<p>Actually, almost everyone uses math every single day, we just don’t use algebra 2 or Calc everyday. We barely touch teaching the kinds of math that every one of us uses and every one of us needs to deeply understand. Intread we teach math that hardly anyone uses regularly. We’d all (as a society) be better off if all high school graduates understood balancing a checkbook, interest, compound interest, what happens if you only pay the minimum on your credit card, how much you actually pay on a thirty year vs. a fifteen year mortgage, how to figure out a tip, how to create and balance a budget, how to interpret statistics, what your loan repayments will look like if you take out college loans, how to measure to order just the right amount of paint for a hallway, how much more it is going to cost to drive to Omaha if you take the Suburban instead of the Civic, etc. I know these seem like simple things, but there are an awful lot of people who can’t seem to figure out pretty basic life problems.</p>
<p>Thank you, eastcoast. I thought it was obvious what I was trying to say, but I guess not.
Fwiw, I wish every student had to take a “practical” math class. Even the calc kids. The FA forum is a perfect example of really, really intelligent students who can’t grasp simple interest problems. </p>
<p>To do all those “practical math” problems, you would need addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (and not even difficult ones). You don’t need to go to school for 7 yrs for that, not to mention you already know some of it before you got to high school.</p>
<p>My kids’ HS has a financial literacy requirement to graduate. There are 2-3 courses that can fulfill that and they all include exactly the type of math you list above. </p>
<p>My point is there are people that are not cut out for HS and there are people who do not need a high school education to suceed in life. Why bother go to HS if you do not want to learn all those subjects?
You insist to go HS and want people to drop the curriculum to meet what you need, which is nothing at all.</p>
<p>I agree with fire123, if high school was about learning things that would be directly useful later in life, instead of reading Shakespeare students should read blogs, and instead of writing essays, they should create powerpoints. I doubt anyone thinks that English classes should be taught that way.</p>
<p>I disagree that some people can’t do the level of math required Algebra 2 (except for maybe those who have learning or mental disabilities), but because of the stigma against math and the poor background that many have, it might be very difficult for people to learn the material in a short amount of time. I think that the emphasis should be placed more on making elementary and middle school teachers more comfortable with math, rather than requiring Algebra 2.</p>
<p>But wouldn’t the prerequisite for such a course be algebra 2, since that is the course that includes coverage of exponential functions, which are necessary to understand interest calculations?</p>
<p>I took Algebra 2 many years ago, remember none of it. But I understand compound interest, it has been explained to me since. I can read a chart that shows how much P&I I’ll pay on a loan over time, or how money I save would grow. I don’t need to be able to calculate it, I can look it up. </p>