College students are struggling with basic math,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two causes. first and predominant cause is that schools are passing everyone and doing so with As and A-s. Secondary is learning loss from COVID. A lot of kids missed out on the opportunity to learn fundamental math concepts. US math education is far behind the rest of the world.

This is such BS. In the rest of the world, by the time you get to a school like Mason, those kids would be in trade school not college. People bash the US because we don't pressure kids to leave the college track early or just drop out and our over all scores reflect it. Meanwhile kids from countries that people love to praise fall over themselves to attend US universities

Quite frankly, it's what many of our so-called "college students" should be doing instead of our continually lowering the bar for acceptance into colleges when they can barely do math or write a paper without an incredible amount of outside support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two causes. first and predominant cause is that schools are passing everyone and doing so with As and A-s. Secondary is learning loss from COVID. A lot of kids missed out on the opportunity to learn fundamental math concepts. US math education is far behind the rest of the world.

This is such BS. In the rest of the world, by the time you get to a school like Mason, those kids would be in trade school not college. People bash the US because we don't pressure kids to leave the college track early or just drop out and our over all scores reflect it. Meanwhile kids from countries that people love to praise fall over themselves to attend US universities

Yes, especially against Asian and European countries. Their average math/science high school standard would be close to TJ standards here.

That's why immigrants were coming here attempting to go to TJ, because it was as good as average back home

Here take a shot at UK A level exams - https://revisionmaths.com/level-maths/level-maths-past-papers/aqa-level-maths-past-papers Yes they are for kids that want to go on to university study. Which would be all of TJ. This is basic math for them.

About 20% of the UK students in 6th form year take A Level math each year.
In the US, about 20% of seniors population take AP Calculus.

It's the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in this subject, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Smartest-Kids-World-They-That/dp/145165443X

US students lag behind because, just as this thread demonstrates, we don't care. It is part of the culture.

It is sad.

The US lags because the US doesn't push kids off of a college track. If you selectively test US kids the same way kids in China are selectively tested, then the US doesn't lag. MIT is still the best university in the world for math and they manage to fill their freshman class with almost 90% Americans every year.

Yes MIT is a leading university and they fill their class with math capable students because they have not abandoned standardized testing. Yes, there are enough Americans who can do advanced math to fill MIT’s class and that of several other STEM schools but many kids are just getting pushed along in math to everyone’s detriment.

Not everyone needs to do high level math, but clearly many colleges need to offer remedial math classes. College is the new high school.

Every been at a store where the register is down. A significant number of Americans can’t make change unless a machine tells them how to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in this subject, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Smartest-Kids-World-They-That/dp/145165443X

US students lag behind because, just as this thread demonstrates, we don't care. It is part of the culture.

It is sad.

The US lags because the US doesn't push kids off of a college track. If you selectively test US kids the same way kids in China are selectively tested, then the US doesn't lag. MIT is still the best university in the world for math and they manage to fill their freshman class with almost 90% Americans every year.

Yes MIT is a leading university and they fill their class with math capable students because they have not abandoned standardized testing. Yes, there are enough Americans who can do advanced math to fill MIT’s class and that of several other STEM schools but many kids are just getting pushed along in math to everyone’s detriment.

Not everyone needs to do high level math, but clearly many colleges need to offer remedial math classes. College is the new high school.

Every been at a store where the register is down. A significant number of Americans can’t make change unless a machine tells them how to do it.

I'm hoping the cashier doesn't have a college degree. The point is that enough American kids do well enough in math to fill out math/engineering/finance/physics... departments. If anything, we are producing too many of these kids given the number of seats available in math heavy majors at universities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't test optional great?

If GMU had a 91% acceptance rate then test optional has nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in this subject, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Smartest-Kids-World-They-That/dp/145165443X

US students lag behind because, just as this thread demonstrates, we don't care. It is part of the culture.

It is sad.

The US lags because the US doesn't push kids off of a college track. If you selectively test US kids the same way kids in China are selectively tested, then the US doesn't lag. MIT is still the best university in the world for math and they manage to fill their freshman class with almost 90% Americans every year.

Yes MIT is a leading university and they fill their class with math capable students because they have not abandoned standardized testing. Yes, there are enough Americans who can do advanced math to fill MIT’s class and that of several other STEM schools but many kids are just getting pushed along in math to everyone’s detriment.

Not everyone needs to do high level math, but clearly many colleges need to offer remedial math classes. College is the new high school.

Every been at a store where the register is down. A significant number of Americans can’t make change unless a machine tells them how to do it.

I'm hoping the cashier doesn't have a college degree. The point is that enough American kids do well enough in math to fill out math/engineering/finance/physics... departments. If anything, we are producing too many of these kids given the number of seats available in math heavy majors at universities

I think the bolded statement actually perfectly conveys the lowering of standards in this country. The level of math required to make change is something that any middle schooler of average intelligence should be able to do with ease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too many multiple-choice exams in high schools. Scantrons are the enemy of learning.

Too many woke assembly’s
Too much slovenly dress
Zero grading homework
Too little tangible value

Trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't test optional great?

If GMU had a 91% acceptance rate then test optional has nothing to do with it.

WOW! They literally admit almost everyone who bothers to apply. Why would you expect high level math students going there.

[Anonymous]

The cited article's lead source for this proposition is "according to some professors." Clickbait bullshit. Next on Fox News, "DCUM posters are struggling with media literacy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in this subject, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Smartest-Kids-World-They-That/dp/145165443X

US students lag behind because, just as this thread demonstrates, we don't care. It is part of the culture.

It is sad.

The US lags because the US doesn't push kids off of a college track. If you selectively test US kids the same way kids in China are selectively tested, then the US doesn't lag. MIT is still the best university in the world for math and they manage to fill their freshman class with almost 90% Americans every year.

Yes MIT is a leading university and they fill their class with math capable students because they have not abandoned standardized testing. Yes, there are enough Americans who can do advanced math to fill MIT’s class and that of several other STEM schools but many kids are just getting pushed along in math to everyone’s detriment.

Not everyone needs to do high level math, but clearly many colleges need to offer remedial math classes. College is the new high school.

Every been at a store where the register is down. A significant number of Americans can’t make change unless a machine tells them how to do it.

I'm hoping the cashier doesn't have a college degree. The point is that enough American kids do well enough in math to fill out math/engineering/finance/physics... departments. If anything, we are producing too many of these kids given the number of seats available in math heavy majors at universities

I think the bolded statement actually perfectly conveys the lowering of standards in this country. The level of math required to make change is something that any middle schooler of average intelligence should be able to do with ease.

+1 But, most people can't do past 6th or 7th grade math, same for reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two causes. first and predominant cause is that schools are passing everyone and doing so with As and A-s. Secondary is learning loss from COVID. A lot of kids missed out on the opportunity to learn fundamental math concepts. US math education is far behind the rest of the world.

This is such BS. In the rest of the world, by the time you get to a school like Mason, those kids would be in trade school not college. People bash the US because we don't pressure kids to leave the college track early or just drop out and our over all scores reflect it. Meanwhile kids from countries that people love to praise fall over themselves to attend US universities

NP. While what you are saying is true, I think this is actually more of a philosophical debate as to whether the US is doing right by ANY students in our efforts to NOT “track” them. The students who can’t learn math still won’t, and the kids who could learn math won’t because the resources are going towards pushing stones uphill. Who does this benefit?

This is a really interesting point, and something I wish were discussed more. It's something I think a lot about when discussing free college for all, to which I'm opposed because I believe it would merely water down college education, as US K-12 education standards have been lowered in our (valiant and worthy) attempts to avoid tracking or failing students. There's an good discussion along these lines at https://www.quora.com/Why-is-free-universal-college-education-not-mandatory-If-an-economy-is-as-big-as-the-United-States-why-is-there-no-free-universal-college-educational-system

I agree, too. The current climate has no room for the "middle" kids. We push so many into AP Calculus. But if they can't hang, the alternatives are full of kids who can barely add. We need some levels for kids who are solid but not truly AP material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids have been spending 7-10 hours a day staring at screens for the last 12 years and their brains are mush.

WE MUST reopen schools like we did pre covid

[Anonymous]

If too many people can do simple math it makes cheating in elections too hard.

[Anonymous]

The truth as that American school and college students were always behind in basic math. This was decades before COVID. There is a reason that Asian-American parents are so stressed in this country. Issues like quality of education, lack of a good curriculum and instruction, no child left behind, no discipline and disruptive students, no textbooks, no finals. grade inflation - all point towards it. we knew that the quality of education in k-12 was shit. And that is the reason that for a decent and average education people go to magnet schools, Quality of private schools is also bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The truth as that American school and college students were always behind in basic math. This was decades before COVID. There is a reason that Asian-American parents are so stressed in this country. Issues like quality of education, lack of a good curriculum and instruction, no child left behind, no discipline and disruptive students, no textbooks, no finals. grade inflation - all point towards it. we knew that the quality of education in k-12 was shit. And that is the reason that for a decent and average education people go to magnet schools, Quality of private schools is also bad.

Should we emulate Japan or South Korea and send kids to cram schools after regular school? Maybe we should make having kids so miserable that people don't bother- that seems to be working great for those countries