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Monday, December 22, 2008
Math battles continue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A judge in California has blocked the state from testing all eighth-graders in algebra.
As in other states, California has had sharp debates over the need for students to perform better in math, while making sure they are ready for the advanced material.
The California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators sued over the algebra requirement over concerns that the state had the money, staff and training for all children to master algebra in eighth-grade.
We’ve heard similar arguments here in Georgia.
I spent some time last week in ninth-grade Math I classes. Some kids got the lessons with ease, others struggled with basics like adding fractions.
I read some blogs in California about the judge’s ruling and came across this comment from a math professor:
“Requiring all 8th-graders to take algebra is like requiring them all to take third-year Spanish. Yes, it would be great if they could all speak and read and write Spanish, but first they need to take first-year Spanish and master that, and then second-year Spanish and master that. Likewise, students cannot learn algebra if they haven’t mastered arithmetic, especially things like fractions.”
How can we expect students to succeed in math without the basics?
