An Argument Against Requiring Algebra – and Some Reactions

From the Marshall Memo #446

In this provocative New York Times opinion column, Queens College (NY) political scientist Andrew Hacker questions whether algebra and subsequent upper-level math courses should be required. Failing algebra is a major reason for our high dropout rate in secondary school and college, he says. “Why do we subject American students to this ordeal? …Think of math as a huge boulder we make everyone pull, without assessing what all this pain achieves.”

But doesn’t algebra prepare students for jobs in the global economy? True, algebraic algorithms are used to create animated movies, investment strategies, and airline ticket prices, Hacker says. But according to a Georgetown Center on Education study, only 5 percent of entry-level jobs require proficiency in algebra. The kind of mathematics needed in most workplaces is different from academic algorithms, says Hacker, and workers can get on-the-job training in necessary areas. 

How about the argument that algebra sharpens students’ minds and builds character? “It’s true that mathematics requires mental exertion,” says Hacker. “But there’s no evidence that being able to prove (x² + y²)² = (x² – y²)² + (2xy)² leads to more credible political opinions or social analysis… Mathematics is used as a hoop, a badge, a totem to impress outsiders and elevate a profession’s status… In the interest of maintaining rigor, we’re actually depleting our pool of brainpower.”

“It’s not hard to understand why Caltech and M.I.T. want everyone to be proficient in mathematics,” he continues, “But it’s not easy to see why potential poets and philosophers face a lofty mathematics bar. Demanding algebra across the board actually skews a student body, not necessarily for the better… My aim is not to spare students from a difficult subject, but to call attention to the real problems we are causing by misdirecting precious resources.” 

What kind of math should be taught? Hacker believes quantitative skills – arithmetic, decimals, ratios, and estimating – are vital to thoughtful citizenship and personal finance. He supports a “citizen statistics” component that would enable students, for example, to understand how the Consumer Price Index is calculated and how each item is weighted, how the Affordable Care Act works, the costs and benefits of environmental regulations, and the impact of climate change. It’s vital that people be able to detect ideology behind numbers, where numbers come from, and what they mean. To reach this goal, quantitative reasoning needs to begin in the early grades.

Hacker’s article sparked a number of letters to the Times, pro and con. Here are a few excerpts: 

• Ben Rothschild, a Georgia high-school student, sees two reasons algebra should be a core requirement: “First and foremost, what kind of message does it teach students if they can simply drop a course that they find challenging? Second, how are American students supposed to compete with foreign students who have mastered these skills?” 

• Harriet Small of Massachusetts says, “In algebra, we learn to organize, to extrapolate, to go step by step, to analyze data. While the child who goes on to become an artist may never need the quadratic formula, he can use the logical reasoning and application skills developed in high-level math classes to make informed decisions as a modern global citizen… If so many students are ‘struggling with algebra,’ we should examine the methods being used to teach it instead of taking it off the syllabus.” 

• Zachary Miller of North Carolina says he hated math for many years: “Through algebra, geometry and trigonometry, I cursed a system that compelled me to take such ‘useless’ courses. Eventually, I was required to take calculus, the most dreaded of all math courses. I prepared for the worst. It came as a surprise, then, that I quickly found myself enjoying the class. The reason was that I had finally encountered a talented math teacher with a passion for the subject. His passion proved infectious, and now, a year later, I’m looking to study mathematical biology at an Ivy League university. It’s an outcome I would have never predicted just a few years ago. It could have never happened if I had been allowed to quit when I first struggled with math.” 

“Is Algebra Necessary?” by Andrew Hacker in The New York Times, July 29, 2012, 

http://nyti.ms/P34qxb and letters in response, July 31, 2012, http://nyti.ms/OgK18T