It seems likely to me that algebra during school is a cause for dropout not because it's harder, but because it's more objective. If someone doesn't know anyth

It seems likely to me that algebra during school is a cause for dropout not because it's harder, but because it's more objective. If someone doesn't know anything about history, you can pass them along, claiming that they wrote a few essays or something. It's fraud, and any expert can see it, but it's easy enough to ignore it if you try. But with algebra you can't ignore failure. It's obvious. Even the most basic tests will reveal ignorance quickly. I conjecture that those people who drop out "because of algebra" are not proficient in any subject. I observe that the alternatives suggested are less objective and more "hands-on". What does it mean to learn about the consumer price index without learning basic algebra? The only explanation I can think of is that it offers more opportunity to ignore educational fraud.