The Core Knowledge Blog
When Barbie Drops Algebra
by Robert Pondiscio
July 30th, 2012
Andrew Hacker’s provocative weekend op-ed in the New York Times (“Is Algebra Necessary?”) wondered why schools insist on subjecting students to the “ordeal” of algebra. “There are many defenses of algebra and the virtue of learning it,” Hacker wrote. “But the more I examine them, the clearer it seems that they are largely or wholly wrong.” Making algebra mandatory, along with other more advanced math subjects leads to failure and dropping out, which “prevents us from discovering and developing young talent,” he argues.
“The toll mathematics takes begins early. To our nation’s shame, one in four ninth graders fail to finish high school. In South Carolina, 34 percent fell away in 2008-9, according to national data released last year; for
