Insufficient College Math Courses

I have found that college Math is much different than high school math. College math class meets less often and covers material at about twice the pace than a High School course does. You are expected to understand new material much more quickly. So it

Originally many schools, including some post-secondary colleges, were designed as factories to train workers (Ackoff & Greenberg, 2008). With a focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, individuals gained skills needed to complete robotic instructions, but unfortunately, not problem-solving techniques. This concept is still present in many of our schooling systems today including some of classes and graduation tracks at Your State Community College (YSCC). Founded in 1968, YSCC serves about 6,000 students preparing them for jobs in both academic and trade careers. Unfortunately, many of the students who enter the school do not score high enough on the placement examination and need remedial courses prior to taking college-level Math

Without the math skills that I learned prior to the Math 2414 course, I would not have been able to score well enough on the TSI assessment to study college algebra. Furthermore, the fundamental math skills I learned in College Algebra prepared me for the Math 2412 pre-calculus course. Once in the 2412 pre-calculus course I became familiar with the unit circle as well as trigonometric functions, which prepared me for success in the 2413 calculus course. Finally, after becoming familiar with the concepts of limits, derivatives and integration, I was prepared for the 2414 calculus

The infographic looks at the Common Core State Standards’ stance on algebra, which is taught in the eighth grade. According to the Common Core, students who take algebra can become familiar with more complex math courses as they progress through school, and will have more knowledge when they enter college. However, the infographic points out that childhood brain development tends to plateau in the eighth

The College Board and ACT nonprofit organizations, known for developing and administering the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) assessment respectively, represents higher education’s widely accepted college readiness determinant for prospective students. These examinations empirically measure a student’s grasp of reading, writing, and mathematics – subjects taught every day in high school classrooms. As a result, they typically constitute a significant proportion of the total entrance requirements for prospective students to relevant institutions of higher learning and denote a serious endeavor unto itself. Students commonly take one or both of these examinations during their junior or senior year of high school as dictated by an institution’s administrative guidelines, although most colleges now allow either test as part of their proprietary admission formulas. And since it turns out there exists subtle differences in the tests themselves, students should review research concluding certain individuals may be better candidates for maximizing performance on one examination versus another.

While taking algebra, students are exposed to abstract thinking by making decisions based on given information. When they apply for a job or participate in a work setting, the employers will look for these abstract thinking skills. In the article, “Should Algebra Required” which appeared in the New York Times, Hacker states that algebra as a requisite is an obstacle for many students to graduate from college. Hacker indicates that algebra should be considered prudent because it “develops student’s problem solving skills, which involve step-by-step analysis” (2012). Based on that, this step-by-step analysis skill is important in several career settings, including but not limited to the following fields: law, medical, and mathematics. However, further research shows that even occupations such as electricians, upholsters, and plumbers that do not require a college degree must have some type of background in mathematical and reading skills. If as a society we consider to lower academic standards, then we will face the consequences in our nation, especially with the immense competition in the new global economy. As a citizen, scientist, or simply a human being, one must prepare our mental abilities to be able to understand abstract thinking in different disciplines in order to make the proper connections between problems and solutions.

In recent discussions of Algebra II, one controversial issue has been whether or not it should be a graduation requirement. Some argue that it prepares students for college and provides critical thinking skills. On the other hand, some contend that college readiness can source from any other core class offered in school. My own view is that although high school math classes can provide students with needed analytical skills, Algebra II should not be a requirement. It takes up room in a student’s schedule who would highly benefit from taking another class. This math class should still be offered for those who have an interest in the mathematics field, but should not be a deciding factor in whether a student graduates, or is accepted into the college of their choice.

In the past, many people believed that a high school diploma was good enough to get a good job with which support a family, but now 76% of college professors and 63% of employers believe that high school diploma is no indication that a student has learned the basics for any job.1 Test scores and studies have shown that America's education system is lagging behind many other industrialized countries due to poor implementation of new curriculum that doesn't help kids prepare for the all important standardized testing. These tests make or break a student's year in terms of meeting the goals set for them at the beginning year. If the American education system is solely test focused and doesn't teach practical skills to kids, then we are going

Lee believes there is a disconnect in our current P-12 education system and actual college readiness and completion. We are not properly meeting the needs of students to be admitted to college and to graduate college. The study looks at national data sets of curriculum-based achievement test data from preschool, elementary, and secondary education students to recognize college level entree and attainment. He was also curious about the gap between our nation and state standards being high enough to meet college readiness and success.

During the years of high school, students are exposed to multitudes of branches of mathematics. Each math prepares you for college and different careers; however, algebra is the basic math every person will use throughout their life. Algebra will play a role in my life throughout my college career and adult life by means of taxes and shopping. .

Instead of calculus, statistics and probability should be taught at high schools, according to Arthur. Jokingly he claims, America wouldn’t be in the economic mess they currently are in, if they already

Educational Testing System. (2008). Access to Success: Patterns of Advanced Placement Participation in U.S. High Schools. Princeton, NJ: Handwerk, P., Tognatta, N., Coley, R J., Gitomer, D

As a high school mathematics teacher, I can relate the issues surround low performances in mathematics. This has been a major concern because students enter high school with huge vacuums and teachers have difficulties filling that void because they must follow the guidelines of the curriculum. From your experience, do community college students have gaps in their mathematical skills? It seems students may be entering college with gaps in their mathematical ability that results in many of them placed into developmental or remedial math coursework. According to Basitere and Ivala (2015) “The knowledge gap includes: a serious lack of essential technical facility – the ability to undertake numerical and algebraic calculations with efficiency

    In eighth grade, I was told that there are two courses for ninth grade math; Algebra 1 and Geometry Calculus. Geometry was said to be more complex than algebra, but I did not see eye to eye with that statement whatsoever. My logic goes as follows- algebra deals more with the basic math operations in contrast to geometry, in which the class learns about shapes. I kept that thought process in mind and it urged me to study for the high school placement test diligently in order to get accepted into Geometry Calculus.

Carter (2002) tell us that “math[ematics] is extremely important in our culture” Also, understanding and comprehending math is what makes people a valuable member in society. In order to understand complex mathematics children need to know their facts, direct instruction and help at home at two different ways to accomplish this. When it comes to math, math is one of those subjects that you can truly say it can be used in the real life. When you go shopping for groceries, clothes, toys, books, etc. you need math to be able to calculate the amount of money you are spending (Carter, 2002). When you are buying set of things you need to be able to multiply to get to your answer, and if you know your math facts you can do that in seconds. Curico 1999 states that learning basic facts is not a prerequisite to be able to problem solve, but it is something really helpful for children to be able to meaningful solve