Math--and another language

Rocky Mountain News Editorial

5/20/07

      If school districts say they can't meet reasonable standards for college admission, why, just lower the standards! Yes, that's the way to ensure that Colorado college graduates will be better prepared to compete in the global economy.

      We're sad to see the Colorado Commission on Higher Education is poised to back away from admission standards announced in 2003 and set to go into effect in 2010. It's a missed opportunity to strengthen the background of college-bound students.

      CCHE had actually announced two deadlines in '03. For students who will enter college in the fall of 2008, the requirements include four years of English, three years each of mathematics, natural science and social science, and a couple of electives. If you're counting, that's 15 year-long courses. A diligent student could easily fulfill the requirements in three years, take a year's worth of college courses in one of the state's post-secondary programs, and have a year's head start on college graduation.

      For the class that will start college in 2010, CCHE had announced that the requirements would be slightly stiffer, adding a fourth year of math and two years of a foreign language. That's still not very demanding for anyone hoping to attend a selective institution, but a student who has done fairly well in such a program should be able to succeed in college. And it leaves plenty of time for students to explore other interests while they are in high school.

      But ever since the standards were announced, people have been whining that they are unattainable. Some rural superintendents worry they won't be able to find qualified math teachers (who are, indeed, in short supply), and teachers of subjects not included in the standards, such as art and music, worry that their classes may lose ground.

      The complaints finally seem to have had their desired effect. New CCHE executive director David Skaggs recently said that the planned 2010 requirements will probably be pulled back to the 2008 standards.

      "There is just a question of practicability and affordability in some districts," Skaggs said. He's right, of course, that the obstacles aren't trivial, but how will this state ensure that college freshman are math-literate and boast some familiarity with a foreign language?

      A revision is being drafted now, and the commission could act to ratify the changes at a special meeting in July.

      American students place near the bottom in international comparisons of mathematics performance. Meanwhile, Americans are notorious for not having seriously studied a second language.

      The 2010 requirements were an attempt, in part, to address these deficiencies in our students. Expecting less of them is doing them no favors.