Reply to Arguments in favor of giving kids passing grades even when they don't know the material?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We need to lessen graduation requirements. There is no reason why a non college bound kid needs to pass algebra 2. That’s just torture, and a D is a kindness to let them graduate and go on to be a hair dresser or whatever they want to be.[/quote]

If the hairdresser can't do basic fractions, the bleaching mixture of 1/4 Part A to 1/3 Part B might end up surprising the poor client.[/quote]

But algebra 2 isn't "basic fractions", it's graphing transformations of rational functions and factoring and analyzing polynomials like "3x^5+2x^3-6" to determine end behaviors and intercepts. Tell me why my hair dresser needs to be able to identify vertical asymptotes of (x+4)/(x^2+3x+2)?

Virginia has gotten slightly better at it with the introduction of AFDA (algebra 1.5, basically) but it's still an issue.  I have 2 students this year who aren't going to graduate because of math.  They have Bs and Cs in the rest of their classes, but an F in math.  Is that what we want?  These kids are working their tails off but just don't have the basic understanding to access algebra 2 materials.  They'd be better off retaking algebra 1 to solidify their basics except they can't because then they won't graduate.

Basic algebra 1 should be required.  Everything above that should be elective math.  Make kids get 2 math credits, but let the second one be financial math, accounting, logic, logistics.  Let the second class be baby probability (instead of making algebra 2 a prerequisite for prob/stats).[/quote]

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