She passed high school math with A’s and B’s. In college, she had to start over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It ain't just math. I have friends who are college professors and they say that so many kids get to college and still cannot write -- from the STEM stars to the run-of-the-mill students.

Freshman English classes are mainly about getting students' writing skills up to a minimum baseline. Another skill that kids should be learning before they are allowed to graduate from high school.

I’m curious how this compare outside the U.S. I’m not sure whether it’s due to K–12 education, social media, or a combination of both, but these issues don’t seem as prominent in Europe.

Europe is just more blunt. You’re sorted for talent at 14. You have to be the best in your country for the subject that you’re interested in if you want to go to. Top school. Grading is more rigorous and honest. Recommendations are more honest- if you’re incompetent, it’ll be written, and if you’re a great student, you’ll get a lukewarm recommendation unless you’re top talent. Students are pushed to their breaking point, but that’s where you find the diamonds under pressure.

[Anonymous]

Pointless discussion and hopeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s strange is that our education system is far more expensive, both public and private.

Yea, we pay a ton for education and health care with abysmal results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It ain't just math. I have friends who are college professors and they say that so many kids get to college and still cannot write -- from the STEM stars to the run-of-the-mill students.

Freshman English classes are mainly about getting students' writing skills up to a minimum baseline. Another skill that kids should be learning before they are allowed to graduate from high school.

I’m curious how this compare outside the U.S. I’m not sure whether it’s due to K–12 education, social media, or a combination of both, but these issues don’t seem as prominent in Europe.

Europe is just more blunt. You’re sorted for talent at 14. You have to be the best in your country for the subject that you’re interested in if you want to go to. Top school. Grading is more rigorous and honest. Recommendations are more honest- if you’re incompetent, it’ll be written, and if you’re a great student, you’ll get a lukewarm recommendation unless you’re top talent. Students are pushed to their breaking point, but that’s where you find the diamonds under pressure.

I enjoy working with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the issue. There are kids at all colleges who need remedial help - even the elite ones. If they're getting the help they need, then what is the problem? Oh, that they took spots from kids who had good math instruction in high school?

Who would help them after graduation? Governments? Tax Payers? AI? Why would employers hire them?

Why do you assume they continue to need help after graduation?

Many of these kids have higher ceilings than privileged UMC kids. Once they get “caught up”, they are equally (or more) capable of excelling.

It’s the equivalent of an NFL team drafting for potential rather than college production, which happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the issue. There are kids at all colleges who need remedial help - even the elite ones. If they're getting the help they need, then what is the problem? Oh, that they took spots from kids who had good math instruction in high school?

Who would help them after graduation? Governments? Tax Payers? AI? Why would employers hire them?

Why do you assume they continue to need help after graduation?

Many of these kids have higher ceilings than privileged UMC kids. Once they get “caught up”, they are equally (or more) capable of excelling.

It’s the equivalent of an NFL team drafting for potential rather than college production, which happens all the time.

It's fact not assumption. Student loan forgiveness.

[Anonymous]

AI, if anything, will accelerate Darwinism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Communism does not work.

Throwing the word communism around when it doesn’t apply to the conversation just shows how the education system has been failing in the US for quite some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reputational hit to the UC's will be generational.

UCSD really admitted students who could not do middle school math? I understand that it is not the most prestigious college in the UC system but that it is appalling.

+1. The UC schools may never recover from this bad precedent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communism does not work.

Throwing the word communism around when it doesn’t apply to the conversation just shows how the education system has been failing in the US for quite some time.

What's your contribution to this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is directly related to the earlier post about top tier privates. The reason "middling" kids get in to top colleges from these schools is that colleges know that they are prepared. Many public schools are a different story.

Oh please, you can't compare a top tier public school in a place like Fairfax County to one in downtown LA, for example. I guarantee my Fairfax County kid is getting just as good as, if not better, an education as your private schooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is directly related to the earlier post about top tier privates. The reason "middling" kids get in to top colleges from these schools is that colleges know that they are prepared. [/b]Many public schools are a different story.[b]

Gosh, there are some really insecure private school parents on this board. Some private schools and some public schools do not prepare kids well. Top tier privates are great, as are top tier publics. At least with lower level publics, you can figure out the quality of the school. There are a ton of bad private schools, but they don't need to take state assessments, publish data, etc., so there's no transparency.

How do you figure out the quality of lower level publics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is directly related to the earlier post about top tier privates. The reason "middling" kids get in to top colleges from these schools is that colleges know that they are prepared. Many public schools are a different story.

This.

My kid had a nearly 100% average in math in mcps middle school.

His private high school placement test had him repeat algebra freshman year…and we quickly got him a tutor to help him keep up.

Long story short: mcps math is a joke.

Long story short is that you’re a grossly negligent parent

dp.. how so? Is it not the school's responsibility to make sure the kid knows the content? Or is school just supposed to be a babysitter, and the parent is supposed to teach them at home?

-MCPS parent

You’re a parent and don’t think to keep tabs with how your kid is doing, what they’re learning, and supporting them? This is your fault.

The kid is getting As/Bs, and the teacher has not indicated that the kid has any learning issues. Is the parent supposed to give the kid an exam at home to make sure they know the content?

I check my child’a work to see if they’re at grade level. It takes 10 minutes out of my day a few times through the year. Negligent parents just let their kid fall behind and blame everyone else.

What if it looks good, but it isn't until college that you realize that the reason it looks good is that it's actually the 3rd or so attempt on the exact same assignment/test, so the student just ended up memorizing the answers and didn't retain much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the issue. There are kids at all colleges who need remedial help - even the elite ones. If they're getting the help they need, then what is the problem? Oh, that they took spots from kids who had good math instruction in high school?

Who would help them after graduation? Governments? Tax Payers? AI? Why would employers hire them?

Almost all grads need help after graduation…? You never got any training for your first job? If your entire existence has been sink or swim, you’re worked some shit jobs.

Similar to our economy. The intelligence is going K shape as well.

Yes and you’re delusional if you believe intelligent people never need help. Unlike you, who lacks empathy, I can easily see someone being a fairly intelligent person but not being privileged, so they may need a little extra remediation before going into their field of choice or finishing their degree. Not everyone was raised upper middle class.

As long as it is not waste of tax payers dollars

Stop funding wars then we’ll start talking about what is a waste of tax payers money.
We have terrible healthcare system and chose to keep a bad one cause we aren’t “socialist,” while paying more for less.
An education system with a school to prison pipeline is incredibly costly for society, yet we maintain that.
Funding a remedial course so a student can get a degree and contribute back to their community? Least of my concerns and should be yours too if wasteful spending is the issue.

Remedial courses are great and important, but the flagship is not the place for them - CSUs and CCs are.

Similarly, basic physical education for adults is also important, but you probably wouldn't be too happy if half your favourite college football team had a substantial portion of recruits who could barely throw a football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post highlights something people often overlook: attending a top university doesn’t automatically mean every student there is exceptionally “smart.” Many elite private schools, like WashU, are actively working to increase socioeconomic diversity by expanding financial aid and access for underrepresented students.

Policies like test-optional admissions can also shift the applicant pool in ways that favor disadvantaged students. That’s not inherently a bad thing—it broadens opportunity—but it does show how admissions strategies evolve in response to external pressures.

Colleges are also highly responsive to ranking systems. If metrics such as socioeconomic or racial diversity are weighted more heavily, schools will adjust their admissions criteria to improve their standing. At the end of the day, institutions operate with many of the same incentives as businesses: they adapt their strategies to strengthen their position, reputation, and outcomes.

I feel bad for the incoming low income premed WashU students who are going to get crushed by the classes there.