Rutgers prof: Math students got A’s in high school, but can’t add fractions
Many of his precalculus students claim they earned A’s or B’s in precalculus — or calculus — in high school, Rutgers math professor Steve Safran told Aldeman.Another instructor complained about students who arrive in college “unable to add fractions without a calculator” or understand a problem with a variable.
Rutgers is seeing a slight increase in well-prepared students who test into advanced calculus, Aldeman writes. But there’s a surge in elementary algebra, intermediate algebra and other classes normally taught in high school.
New Jersey students are supposed to pass algebra, geometry and at least one more math class to earn a high school diploma, writes Aldeman. But there are lots of alternate paths to a diploma. “Even as state officials celebrate a record-high 91.8% graduation rate, 40% of this year’s graduates failed to pass the state’s high school math exam last year.”
It’s not just New Jersey, he writes.”Most states have large gaps between graduation and math proficiency rates,” he writes.
Math is cumulative, Aldeman writes. Students who don’t learn their times tables will struggle with fractions. “If they are shaky on fractions and decimals, they’re likely to have a hard time with algebra.”
Lowering standards boosts graduation rates, he writes. “But if math gaps aren’t addressed early, catching up is harder and costlier, and students pay the price.”
“Among students designated as college-ready by their high school coursework, only 47.6 percent are projected to pass intermediate college algebra,” they write. “Consequently, colleges nationwide, including elite institutions such as Harvard University, have had to establish introductory and remedial math courses to close foundational algebraic skill gaps.“
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HUANG: “.. Try getting a kid to do long division right now. Multiplication tables are starting to be forgotten. Doing square roots? My goodness. ..
.. Does it matter? .. I don’t think it does.”
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This 2009 (!) University of Wisconsin-Madison Placement Office study of “reform vs traditional math” outcomes came to mind when reading Corrinne Hess’s 7 July 2026 article: “Fewer than half of Wisconsin students are proficient at math“.
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