> This analysis revealed a systematic failure affecting tens of thousands of children across North Carolina alone, wasting human potential on a massive scale.
What? How is this a waste of human potential? Presumably the kids that didn't take HS Algebra took other classes instead, and probably did well at those. Not taking Algebra does not make you a failure at life, it does not waste human potential on a massive scale.
> Presumably the kids that didn't take HS Algebra took other classes instead, and probably did well at those.
The article repeatedly mentions kids who were forced to retake classes/material that they had already achieved mastery on. Moreover the way the system is set up, not taking Algebra in junior high means that you won't be allowed to take the most advanced math classes in the final years of high school. Either of these amounts to a serious waste of potential.
It also seriously impacts college access, since your average college course requires either "College Algebra" (which has a severe weed-out effect on those who didn't already achieve mastery in K-12 math, because you can't really teach the entirety of K-12 in one college semester!) or even calculus.
Damn that's a crazy system. Over here colleges have maths prep courses for those whose maths skills are insufficient (or, like, older folks getting back into learning), and there are typically no admission requirements beyond having graduated HS (with some exceptions like medicine).
> Damn that's a crazy system.
The real craziness is in K-12 education itself. Colleges have just evolved their own "system" to cope with that in the most practicable way while preserving the world-class standards they care about. (Gen-ed college courses is another example. In most of the world, providing 'gen-ed' is the job of high school!)