Math Emerges as Big Hurdle for Teenagers
H.S. Improvement Hinges On ‘Critical’ Subject
March 23, 2005
By Debra Viadero
Researchers from the United Negro College Fund went to West Virginia last year and asked 62 high school dropouts in the federal Job Corps program a simple, open-ended question. “What was it about school,” they wanted to know, “that caused you to quit?”
With surprising consistency, a majority of the participants, most of whom were African-American or Hispanic, gave the same answer: “Math.”
Though the results are not scientific, they point to a challenge that confronts policymakers and educators as they campaign to make American high schools more academically rigorous. Experts agree that if the goal is for all students to graduate from high school ready for college or other postsecondary study, schools have their work cut out for them, at least in mathematics.
For entire article: www.edweek.org
1 comment:
I read this article and thought it was pretty interesting, too. In fact, I thought about sending it to everyone.
We know that high-level math is a big problem in terms of keeping kids in school. I would caution that this study did include only a small number of students, but I suspect it rings true to people who work with disaffected kids.
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