When am I Going to use Algebra?!
G.V. Ramanathan, a professor emeritus of mathematics, statistics and computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago says that math has little relevance to daily life. He goes on to say that math has been marketed as essential even though most adults have no contact with math at work, or in their leisure. He argues that the students who love math and science have done very well in our country, and our graduate schools are the best in the world. He cannot understand the need to spend taxpayer’s money on “pointless endeavors without demonstrable results or accountability.”
Professor Ramanathan’s view has support among many of the constituencies that have traditionally set the direction for K-12 education in the United States. His is the traditional view – that beginning somewhere in grades 8 or 9, students should be tracked into math courses based on their abilities, their interest, or the extent to which they will need math in their chosen career-paths. Interestingly,this point of view is in direct conflict with the education reform movement in Illinois, and throughout the nation.
In their policy brief The Building Blocks of Success: Higher Level Math for All Students commissioned by Achieve, Inc., researchers found that Algebra II and other advanced math courses are prerequisites for many college courses, not only in math and science, but also in social science fields, economics, business, and computer and other technology courses. They found that female, disadvantaged and minority high school students not only earn fewer mathematics credits than their peers, but are less likely than those peers to enroll in higher-level math courses such as trigonometry and calculus.
The report goes on to say that in the current system, “higher-level math courses function not as the intellectual and practical boost they should be, but as a filter that screens students out of the pathway to success.” While there is fear that requiring a common core math curriculum of all students will discourage students who have not previously taken such courses, the report cites research that “challenging math does not increase high school dropout rates if students are given the support and high-quality instruction they need to succeed.” Read the full report athttp://www.achieve.org/files/BuildingBlocksofSuccess.pdf.