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90% of 200 CUNY Students Can't Do Basic Algebra Problems
vvaduva writes "Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen — suggesting city schools aren't preparing them, a CUNY report shows. During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem, the report by the CUNY Council of Math Chairs found. Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal."
Wow - I can't believe that this story has been up for half an hour with no replies.
Are Slashdotters already so cynical about our ongoing demographic catastrophe that they no longer have the energy to wring their hands and pull their hair at the thought of our nation's looming innumeracy?
when you got puters! Seriously this is just sad...
I only S(kimmed)TFA, but i see no mention of what a "basic" algebra problem is. Does anybody know?
I hate what our news has become, all "point" with no "fact"...
Most of the /. folks are looking for their favorite lesbian porn clips.
"Common sense will be the death of us all"
From TFA:
Maybe what US high schools need is a difficulty multiplier for GPAs. Of course, that would require some sort of national standard that would have somebody crying foul.
(It's never too late to join the Renaissance)
I've tried to find the original report, but it doesn't seem to be online. Too bad, what can be called a "simple algebra problem" might not be the same thing for a freshman as a professor. We have similar problems in Sweden. The solution is somewhat different though, we lower expectations instead. Many swedish universities have lowered their admission standards. We have a national standard for high school courses, with math courses going from A to E-level. (The F course, mostly covering discrete mathematics, was removed about 15 years ago.) Many universities no longer require the E-level course for their master programs in science, which means that new students in for example engineering, physics and computer science haven't heard of complex numbers, matrixes or differentials. Is this the beginning to the end of math? Probably not, but it means that new students have to spend their first months learning stuff that was common knowledge just 15-20 years ago. Computers and calculators are not the culprits, but I don't know who else to blame.
My public high school was teaching fractions and decimals in the 11th and 12th grade. The majority of kids never saw algebra in high school.
Those in the "college track" saw only rudimentary algebra before graduation.
The "advanced track" had algebra in the 8th and 9th grades. Geometry was offered in the 10th grade, and in the 11th grade there was trig. Seniors were offered "pre-caclulus" which I would describe as trig deja vu.
When I was in university, all of the public colleges and universities in the area offered introductory math courses in "pre-algebra" which I would describe as fractions and decimals. The overwhelming majority of all freshmen ended up taking them. Only the kids majoring in math, science, or engineering had with calculus or other advanced math their freshman year.
I used to help friends from high school with their college "pre-algebra" coursework. One of these girls was also taking a college science course that seemed to be at the elementary school level. Topics included magnetism, the water cycle, glaciers, and other extremely basic natural science stuff. The cousework consisted of memorizing vocabulary words and basic definitions.
"Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units, and false teeth."
I went to school in NJ and several teachers had previously taught in NY. They alway spoke (in terror) of these Regents exams, which were tests students had to pass to move up to the next grade.
Quick googling finds this test from last summer, which on first glance looks like fair coverage of basic algebra.
So, have requirements changed or was the CUNY test absurd?
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
We spend >$19,000/year/kid in the NY public schools. You expect them to LEARN?
I go to one of the CUNY's, even had one of the paper authors as a professor. Our admissions requirements are downright sad, and the kids who can't even muster those can usually get in as transfers from community schools or by getting into one of the many remedial programs. A lot of these kids end up either flunking out or ending up as liberal arts majors. (Writing skills are just as pathetic, but it's more complicated because of the large ESL population, which the administration doesn't really want to admit we have.)
Though I'm totally curious about the sampling bias here, 'cause a first math class at CUNY could be elementary math, pre-calc or anything in the calc sequence, so lots of freshman don't have the same first math course. The amount of kids who can't do fractions in an elementary math course is much higher then the amount of freshman who can't do fractions in calc II. It's also the daily news, which is about as tabloid as you get. I'm also curious how other schools stack up, and especially how majors/course of study effects the distribution.
open source modern art: laser taggi
What's amazing is that 10% were able to pass the test. Why do they always pick the dumb-ass liberal arts schools for these surveys? Why not pick a good school with educated students pursuing real degrees instead of a "check-the-box" degree shop?
... people who have no business going to college such as the the non-intellectually inclined, those who have no love of reading, those who have no work ethic.
People confuse making higher education accessible with dumbing down requirements. This is exactly the problem at universities and colleges in general.
Check out the documentary "Declining by Degrees".http://www.decliningbydegrees.org/show-synopsis.html
One featured student was a guy that would get drunk Thursday through Sunday and would pass all of his exams and got on the Dean's List.
Colleges have been pandering to their customers - students - and have inadvertently shortchanged them. It's like a doctor telling you to take it easy since it hurts to exercise and you weigh 300 pounds.
Colleges has to stop this remediation. That was the job of the high school. Also blame social promotion that shuffles these kids even though they know nothing.