The kind of math tested here is specifically what is necessary for a school board member. He needs to be able to answer questions like: * Last year's budget wa

The kind of math tested here is specifically what is necessary for a school board member. He needs to be able to answer questions like: * Last year's budget was $X, and this year we're proposing $Y. What is the percentage increase? * The teachers' union is asking for raises of 4% /year over three years. What will our final salary expense be at the end of that time? * If the government cuts our funding by $X this year, and I we want to distribute that fairly over each school in the district, how do we make the cuts proportional to the size of each school? But I especially appreciated the end of the article. The author discusses the fact that one can be an "intellectual" by completing completely ignorant of practical skills like basic mathematics. Yet we as a society seem to revere such intellectuals, and look to them for leadership.