Texas and Florida High Schools To Drop Upper-Level Math Requirements Because Nobody in Those States Actually Need It

ABC -Policy pop quiz: Does Texas – algebra II = success? The state that started a trend by making high school students tackle algebra II is now abandoning the policy in a move praise by school districts for affording more flexibility. But some policy experts are nervous because nearly 20 states have followed Texas’ lead in requiring the vigorous course. Supporters say fewer course mandates give students more time to focus on vocational training for high-paying jobs that don’t necessarily require a college degree, such as at Toyota’s factory in San Antonio or oil and chemical giant BASF’s facilities on the Gulf Coast. But critics say Texas — often watched for education policy — is watering down its standards. They note that test scores and graduation rates have improved since the tougher curriculum was adopted in 2006. “Algebra II is a really, really powerful predictive value on whether kids go to college, but it goes on and on after that: more likely to have a full-time job, have a job with benefits, be healthier,” said Patte Barth, director of the Center for Public Education, a policy group affiliated with the National School Boards Association. “It’s not just for the college bound.” Sixteen other states and the District of Columbia now require algebra II for most students, while Minnesota and Connecticut will do so soon. But Texas will join Florida — two of the country’s most populous states — in dropping the requirement when its Board of Education gives final approval to a curriculum overhaul next week. That’s prompting some education groups to keep close tabs on other states because Texas’ classroom policy can have national implications. The state’s heavy reliance on tougher standardized testing under then-Gov. George W. Bush became the model for the federal No Child Left Behind law. Texas’ textbook market is so large that edits made for its classrooms can affect books sold nationwide.

I had the worst teacher at any level of education in pre-calc, and didn’t learn shit from him. If you held a gun to my head and told me to tell you something I learned in that class, I would be a dead blogger. But you know what would have been good to learn? How the fucking stock market works. How filing taxes works. Maybe teach a little something to the complete idiots that think a credit card is free money that falls from the sky. Shit, even teach the fat fucks that eating a diet of non stop saturated fats and popeyes will kill you. Algebra 2 is a complete sham. Most shit you learn in school is. So this is a good thing. The kids who want to be scientists can take algebra 2 if they’d like, and great for them. We still need smart people. So let’s not try to make Floridians and Texans into something they’re not. We still need people at minimum wage jobs. So stop crowding their brains with all that math shit.