California community college math requirements changes

A change in state law is upending the way community colleges teach calculus, but the law could up hurting people its designed to help.

[mr.d]

If you don’t understand algebra, how are you going to understand calculus

[curiouspeople]

I know kids in community college that retake calculus 3 times, moving them faster to it isn't gonna help

[markmacbayne]

I am a product of our community college system, attending American River College in the early 90's before transfering to UC Davis. I took remedial math courses and I am so glad I did. I finally became proficient in algebra and without that coursework, I don't think I would have completed Calculus. We do our young people no favors by pushing them into work at a level for which they are not prepared.

[MrTweetyhack]

skip all basic math and jump straight into calculus. That's certainly going to help HAHA. These politicians probably never took any math classes.

[cjdavid]

Yeah, California is cooked. I took pre-calc in high school and then calculus my first semester of college. I had to drop calculus and take a trig course the following semester because I wasn't ready for calculus. This pushed my transfer date a year back...

It took me 3 years to transfer from CC to a 4 year. Now, I have my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and master's degree in industrial & systems engineering. This math problem stems from not preparing in middle school and high school. How do I know this? I worked for a non-profit organization called Square Root Academy. There's a huge gap within STEM due to math proficiency.

[sharonsolana]

Taking calculus is like running a marathon.
You have to be (mentally) fit. The more (math) experience you have, the better you will do. I lived in the math learning center in preparation for calculus.
The key to getting A's in calculus: practice, practice, and more practice
I often did my homework twice. Almost every time I did not fully understand a concept or a calculus problem, I asked an online tutor or a friend.

[Kevin-]

If you don’t understand Algebra you will not pass Calculus. It’s the foundation of that class. I started community college taking pre algebra. Worked my way up and barely passed calculus with a B. Putting students that are failing to grasp the mental gymnastics of algebra and putting them straight into calculus is a terrible idea and will lead to straight failures. It’s too conceptual to just jump into.

[Taldaran]

Many kids coming to community colleges got straight D's, but still graduated high school. The dumbing down of America is taking its toll.

[willieverusethis]

They already did this with college level English. They no longer require remediation before taking English 101. Then they lowered the requirements for social studies, since no one needs to learn both History AND Political Science in America. Now they are eliminating the requirements for calculus. This dumbing down of the community college curriculum helps no one.

[pmabrouk]

Dear Chancellor, you need to start actually speaking with and listening to STEM educators. We will be happy to tell you that we don’t need more academically unprepared students in our classrooms. Please stick to your lane and let me do my job!

[peilpdv]

That's is the stupidest thing I have EVER heard! Students needs to pass some kind of test to determine if they can enroll in Calculus and bypass remedial course. It's widely know that some districts in CA over inflate grades in highschool. Not to mention district placing unqualified staff to teach subjects that they are not expertise in....
Putting students in advance math classes when they're not ready is not helping them!

[thetonykhang]

AB 705 was a disaster! As a community college student who went through this, going directly into a high level math course screwed a lot of people.

Also, this negativity impacts those who want to go back to school after taking years off.

[seanrhone]

So, you're setting these students up for failure by throwing them into Calc 1 when they are not ready for it!

[AllanSmulling]

A STEM student that can't comprehend math is going into the wrong area of study.

[kyleh]

The issue has always been K-12 Schools has been failing our students for decades. And nothing is ever done about it.

[kikimab]

I sure as heck don’t want engineers or scientists who have been given “A for effort” passes in charge of public safety or medical programs. I’d rather have Indian, Chinese, Korean etc graduates who are actually qualified. The US education system is really messed up.

[rickyrichy]

Terrible idea. How can you get into calculus if you are struggling with algebra. It’s silly! Just take them straight to differential equations.

[brianbest]

Math is like a staircase. You need to work your way up to the advance math courses. I do understand some students are bright and don't need those courses or test out. However, If you had a hard time, failed, withdrew or retook Algebra, Trig, Pre Calc or Pre Calc 2 you'll be fighting for your life in Calc or Physics. There's no way of going around it. Thus i believe it will only hurt more students. The harsh truth many students such as myself end up switching majors, droping out, retaking and failing or finally getting the grade but by then your burnt out. I will say the ultimate way to cheat is to start your kids early. Hire a tutor, take advance classes, attend after school programs, attend summer camps, take AP courses and last but not least practice thus you have a fighting chance.

[slacker]

This is ridiculous. As someone who enrolled at a community college and started my math studies with algebra and worked my way through all of the calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra I would never have survived being tossed into calculus. I now teach engineering at a UC and we are seeing an increase in the number of students not prepared for calculus coming from the high schools and higher level mathematics from the community colleges.

[carolynb.]

Ironically, throwing people right into calculus when they haven't fully comprehended the material before it would be a great way to scare people AWAY from STEM fields. This policy is so moronic.