Last week the California State Board of Education voted to begin testing all 8th grade students in Algebra I within three years. This comes in the wake of a finding by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel about the fundamental importance of algebra readiness. This decision now sets California apart as having the highest 8th grade math testing standard in the Country. Today, less than 50% of California’s students are taking Algebra I.
This is a big and bold step for both California’s and our Country’s education system. We live in a world where college graduates with math and science degrees are in increasingly high demand by employers. But yet in the U.S. the percentage of college graduates awarded math, science and engineering degrees is down significantly from 15+ years ago. This is leaving America increasingly reliant on foreign workers to fill these vitally important technical jobs. In 2001, a bipartisan commission on American National Security said that the second biggest threat to American national security was the threat of failing to provide sufficient math and science education in America (this was second only to terrorist attacks).
Needless to say, this is important stuff. And it’s so great to see Calilfornia actually taking a leading role in improving the education system in America.
P.S. if you want to learn more about the state of the math & science education system in California, take a skim of EdSource’s Math and Science Report from January ‘08.
CA finally does something to improve its education system! maybe CA’s educators trying to be better than dead last in all major metrics of education success… i’m skeptical.
And with good reason. But I’m willing to give CA the benefit of the doubt on this one. Hopefully a sign of things to come…
It’s no secret that the US education system is not one of the world’s best. Of course US colleges are still the best in the world, but American middle/high schoolers generally test lower than similar students from other parts of the world. This is a good step in the right direction. Fixing our education problem is the key to creating a a good future for all of us. Now, lets teach those kids some damn algebra!