July 20, 2001|By Arnold Packer
WE NEED to add common sense to the debate of what and how math is taught. Otherwise, dismal test scores in America's most hated subject will substantially increase the high school dropout rate.
Math should be the pump that feeds a pipeline of engineers, physical and social scientists, business executives, policymakers, accountants, educators and others into the U.S. economy. Mathematics should also help produce citizens who are well informed and make intelligent decisions about government budgets, pensions and environmental and health risks.
Learning the math needed for the vast majority of these purposes can be a rigorous and satisfying experience. Unfortunately, the current emphasis on arcane procedures and abstract notation in "x" and "y" is a predominant reason why students cry: "Why do I have to learn this stuff?" The result? Math filters too many students out of technical areas, if not out of college completely.
Most adults do not want to think about algebra ever again. They would rather leave the issue and the fighting in the math wars to the college professors who are currently doing battle. The majority did not necessarily love algebra when they took it and do not want to have an opinion on math.
Leaving out math teachers, how many adults could operate on a polynomial reflexively - or any other way? By some estimates, fewer than one in four American adults can do arithmetic problems in which they have to perform two or more sequential operations - for example, how much would 84 eggs cost if the price is $1.10 a dozen. Most adults would fail even the easy algebra test.
Students are hard-pressed to do better. The average 17-year-old can barely compute with decimals, fractions and percentages, recognize geometric figures, solve simple equations and use moderately complex reasoning. In so-called challenged schools, the average is lower, and more than half of the students would fail a "hard" test.
Forced to choose between taking algebra again and dropping out, many would leave school (many adults would rather take a beating than another math course). More than half of the students entering the California college system need to take a "developmental" course. Over one in four college freshmen feel that they will need tutoring or remedial work in math. This compares with only one in 10 for English, science and foreign language.
A good math program does not require reflexive operations with polynomials (and I say that as an engineer licensed in New York and California and one-time chief economist for the Senate Budget Committee). But it does require algebra that is not "easy" or "dumbed down" - algebra that can be taught and learned in Baltimore high schools and elsewhere.
Algebra taught in a useful context will interest the vast majority who will not become those professional mathematicians who need to factor polynomials and solve calculus problems reflexively.
We have been working with zone high schools in Baltimore. Algebra I students in teams develop a tour package for a travel agent. They price a profitable weekend tour and decide between a four- and eight-page brochure. They use charts, spreadsheets and equations (including polynomials).
Algebra II students develop and present a business plan for a retail store. They compute revenues based on a complex (polynomial) equation that depends on mall traffic, advertising strategies, sales strategies, and so on. They use probability to develop an inventory strategy.
These students succeed. They do not drop out; they do a letter grade better than students in a control group. They are about twice as likely to take and pass "college track" courses. If the Maryland exit exam - and, more importantly, Maryland's algebra teachers - deal with algebra in the context of real world problems, Maryland's students will succeed in school.
Teachers and college professors, if they also teach in context, will find teaching more satisfying than flunking students. Most importantly, Maryland's graduates will have a better chance of being able to remember and use the math they learned after they graduate. They may even recall algebra as a satisfying experience instead of a time of dread.
Arnold Packer chairs the SCANS 2000 Center at the Institute for Policy Studies at the Johns Hopkins University.
