Math for all Seniors
"On the ACT in 2009, Utah students, on average, didn't score well enough to be considered ready for college-level math classes, according to a steering committee report," wrote the Salt Lake Tribune.
Math may not be every one's favorite subject, nor may it be applicable for all college majors or professions, but I say it's a subject worth studying. The Utah Board of Education agrees. Since statistics such as the one above have been released, showing Utah's falling math standards amongst high school students, a State Office of Education Mathematics committee is working to bring about some changes. The committee has proposed several ideas, but most recently suggested that a senior year math course be required for all Utah high school students. As of now, Utah high schoolers are required to take at least three years of math over four years of high school, but there is no regulation as to when those courses need to be taken. Most commonly, students end up taking math during their freshman, sophomore, and junior years, skipping math all together for their senior year. The result then, and what is so concerning for the education committee, is that high school graduates are ill-prepared mathematically come college.
"'We can tell if there's been a gap in their learning time, and it's becoming more and more clear that gap is a major part of the gap when they head to college.' Nearly one of five students who entered Utah public colleges and universities right after high school in 2007 had to take remedial classes in college, according to the Utah System of Higher Education."
Comments
Malori- I am glad you
Malori-
I am glad you brought up this topic. Math is one of my favorite subjects in school this year, and I also agree that it is a very important subject, not only for college, but also for most careers and professions. I think a lot of people in high school today get discouraged, say they are bad at math, and give up. Some people think they will never have to use it, because they don't plan on being an engineer or a mathmatician. They get away with doing the very minimum amount of work possible to graduate. But in the end, this only hurts them later, when, as you said, high schoolers are not prepared for even a basic math class at the college level. I think this shows that high schoolers in Utah need more exposure to math before college. Hopefully, they would be open-minded enough and realize that requires patience and practice, not necessarily innate skill. i think people's problem with math is an attitude problem, and people in general are capable of doing much more than they think. In the past, people who found math challenging would spend more time working on it, but now, they stop trying altogether. I'm not sure if requiring four years of math in high school would help with a transformation of attitudes toward math, but at least it may give people the confidence to succeed in math in college. Thanks for your thoughts, I look forward to them in the future!
-Jess
Mal- I completely
Mal-
I completely agree with you! I know I don't have to tell you how much I love math- but I will say it anyway- I am COMPLETELY fascinated by it. It is like solving a puzzle. Anyone who says that math will never help them in the real world is wrong. When you said, "As of recently, Utah's average test scores for math have been below national standards." I think the root of this problem is the decreasing fascination of math that you and I do have. It starts with motivation. Kids MUST be motivated from an early age to practice math and use it everyday. Their school curriculum should be challenging- but not discouraging. If children don't develop a love for math at an early age, it is useless to expect them to want to challenge themselves in high school. All high school students should be taking calculus at the highest level available- in our case AP. The problem is the mentality going into high school. Students should always have the opportunity to be put on a "fast track" in math. This starts with success in elementary mathematics courses.
Back to my statement, "Anyone who says that math will never help them in the real world is wrong." Again, I don't have to tell you that I have had some issues with money in the past. My dad decided that the solution to this, besides shredding my precious "magic card" was to keep me educated about money. During this course from Dave Ramsey that I took last summer, I realized that without math courses in high school, there is NO chance of wealth in one's future. People say that you don't need math- but I am willing to guess that these are those people who also think that "the only way to get good credit is to go into debt" or "look, I am paying less for my car monthly because XYZ company gave me a year of no interest." Yes, they are wrong. These "magic cards" are actually just easier access to a HUGE debt snowball. Maybe if people were more educated about math, they could figure out that paying $250 a month at 12% monthly interest for three years is a lot more money than a $10,000 down payment. The answer to decreasing debt in America IS education. High school students MUST be educated. Credit card companies are getting the idea. They are targeting college students- eliminating a future of wealth before one can even build one.
Thanks for your post, Mal! Sorry I went off on a tangent there. I have learned a great deal about money over the past year and it IS dangerous. If I can fall into this trap- why wouldn't somebody with a less valued mathematic education?
Megan