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That's a stretch. Of the 40-50 kids I knew in college, not a single one took College Alegbra. Not to mention that my freshman English Comp classes was one of th

That's a stretch. Of the 40-50 kids I knew in college, not a single one took College Alegbra. Not to mention that my freshman English Comp classes was one of the most intense, interesting, useful classes I took in college. If some are guilty of comparing the tippy top of the US college system to the rest of the world's average, you are certainly guilty of comparing the bottom of the bottom to the world average.

ez77 15y ago
Of the 40-50 kids I knew in college, not a single one took College Alegbra. But this kind of "College Algebra" is, understandably, considered college-level material. That pretty much happens only in the US (considering countries with educational systems...), and choices such as this influence the overall academic level. my freshman English Comp classes was one of the most intense, interesting, useful classes I took in college That's great, and I happened to enjoy a lot my electives such as Theater 101 as a math undergrad (even if I was critical of the curriculum)... but the main point is: Should English composition courses be given at the college level? What, then, do you do during those twelve (OK... last three of those twelve?) previous years? I was puzzled when a student who clearly didn’t need English composition defended this setup, arguing that “a college student should know how to write”. Well, “a high-school graduate should know how to write”, was my response then and now, and if you press me elementary-school students should be well on their way to accomplishing this. I’m not saying this has an easy solution. Some countries “fix” their K12 woes by resetting the academic level at the college admission tests. As a result, a good chunk of the population has to find a way to raise their level, which is not ideal either. But what the US opts to do lowers the undergraduate level, no doubt. I wonder if this will eventually trickle down to Ph.D. programs. Edit: All this leaves out grade inflation and related issues... It is downright hard to fail most courses of some majors. This is bad enough.

ez77 15y ago

Of the 40-50 kids I knew in college, not a single one took College Alegbra. But this kind of "College Algebra" is, understandably, considered college-level material. That pretty much happens only in the US (considering countries with educational systems...), and choices such as this influence the overall academic level. my freshman English Comp classes was one of the most intense, interesting, useful classes I took in college That's great, and I happened to enjoy a lot my electives such as Theater 101 as a math undergrad (even if I was critical of the curriculum)... but the main point is: Should English composition courses be given at the college level? What, then, do you do during those twelve (OK... last three of those twelve?) previous years? I was puzzled when a student who clearly didn’t need English composition defended this setup, arguing that “a college student should know how to write”. Well, “a high-school graduate should know how to write”, was my response then and now, and if you press me elementary-school students should be well on their way to accomplishing this. I’m not saying this has an easy solution. Some countries “fix” their K12 woes by resetting the academic level at the college admission tests. As a result, a good chunk of the population has to find a way to raise their level, which is not ideal either. But what the US opts to do lowers the undergraduate level, no doubt. I wonder if this will eventually trickle down to Ph.D. programs. Edit: All this leaves out grade inflation and related issues... It is downright hard to fail most courses of some majors. This is bad enough.