By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK
Last Wednesday, the Kansas Board of Regents vice president of academic affairs told board members that college algebra was for preparing students for calculus, so only 20 percent of majors needed higher-level math. According to the Kansas News Service, he told KBOR “We’re sending students down a road that’s not practical, that’s not really needed, not relevant for their field. So, this is something that doesn’t work very well.” Thus, Regents are considering aligning math requirements with a student’s major. Many more could take statistics instead of algebra.
U.S. undergraduate enrollment has lost almost 1.4 million students nationwide, compared to pre-pandemic levels, and Kansas universities suffered their share of losses. Watering down college requirements appears to be another action to get more high school students to enter college. KBOR already dropped a specific physics or chemistry science requirement they had established back in 1997.
This job-centered mentality is wrong at many levels. First, over 60 percent of public university students nationwide change their major at least once! Students have little prior direct experiences to make a decision on what field they wish to pursue. A spectrum of general education courses across many fields results in well over half switching to a field they had not previously considered.
The second reason all students should take algebra, even if they do not select a science field, is that it changes the way you think. Basic math and business math courses are extensions of 1+1 = 2 simple mathematics. But the A squared + B squared = C squared algebra provides you with a new way to solve problems that you cannot solve with simple mathematics. Even if you graduate in a field that does not involve algebra—and you forget how to do the problems—you retain the mental confidence that when you encounter such a problem, there is a solution possible through algebra. It provides a confidence that is lacking if you never took the course.
Algebra is likewise a critical skill for solving physics, chemistry and some biology problems. But if students can avoid it, those doors will close to students who are among the 60 percent who change major, some who would have switched to these sciences.
Does it matter? You bet it does! Students in East Asia begin studying algebra in fourth grade. Half of their undergraduates in their universities major in STEM subjects. Only 18% of U.S. students major in STEM. China is now number one in number of STEM majors in college (2007), in number of STEM articles in science journals (2017), in number of international patents (2019) and in top one percent of most-cited STEM articles worldwide (2022).
Across the U.S., many states are watering down their educational standards. If Kansas sets aside algebra for non-science majors, they will be following California that just did that last year. Other states are doing the same. We have been eroding U.S. science and science literacy for decades. The U.S. now relies on foreign-born students coming to the U.S. to maintain enrollment in science programs.
The National Foundation for American Policy released its report on “International Students in Science and Engineering” in August 2021. “In 2019, at U.S. universities, there were only 9,083 full-time U.S. graduate students in electrical engineering, compared to 26,343 full-time international students....At U.S. universities, international students account for 82% of the full-time graduate students in petroleum engineering, 74% in electrical engineering and 72% in computer and information sciences, 71% in industrial and manufacturing engineering, 70% in statistics, 67% in economics, 61% in civil engineering, 58% in mechanical engineering and agricultural economics, 56% in mathematics and applied mathematics, 54% in chemical engineering, 53% in metallurgical and materials engineering, 52% in materials sciences and 50% in pharmaceutical sciences.”
The NFAB report continues: “At many U.S. universities, the data show it would be difficult to maintain important graduate programs without international students.” While full-time U.S. graduate students in computer and information science grew 91% (9,042 to 17,334) from 1998 to 2019, the annual number of full-time international grad students grew 310% (10,930 to 44,786). From 1998 to 2019, the number of U.S. grad students in electrical engineering only grew 12% (8,139 to 9,083) while international grad students in this field increased 130% (11,469 to 26,343). These are shortage fields in the U.S. The NFAB report quotes research showing “At the graduate level, international students do not crowd-out, but actually increase domestic enrollment.” Without these international students, primarily from Asia, many U.S. research universities would have to shut down graduate science departments and research programs. Both teaching faculty and researchers would be without jobs.
All of these fields require algebra. This pending KBOR decision merely accelerates the devaluing of U.S. education and increases our reliance on foreign students.
. . .
John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities during 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.