Some of you may remember my past post involving an eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina; I wouldn’t have done too well on it.
Recently, a reader pointed out the math portion of a high school diploma equivalency test from Scotland. The standards expected on this test put to shame our American public school standards, especially our GED test.
Want to see if you’re up to Scotland’s high school alumnus’ math level?
Posted by Ross Stewart
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8 Comments
Looks pretty much like problems in the course before College Algebra given in High School. Some call it Algebra II others Preparatory Algebra.
“2006 PAPER II QUESTION 2Find the value of k such that the equationkx2 +kx + 6 = 0, k A 0, has equal roots.We have to use the discriminant of a quadraticexpression for this question.The standard quadratic formis ax 2 + bx + c andthe discriminant is defined as b 2 – 4ac and if thequadratic equation is to have equal roots then thediscriminant must equal zero.We compare the given equation kx 2 +kx + 6 = 0with the standard form and see that a = k, b = kand c = 6.So b2 – 4ac = k 2 – 4.k.6 and this must equal zero.ie k 2 – 24k = 0k(k – 24) = 0k = 0 or k = 24k A 0 so k = 24 “
You know they always say how “dumb” our education is and how much “smarter” kids in other nations are BUT somehow our “dumb” kids have built the best and most desired nation on Earth. Somehow we invented and gave the world things like lights, vaccines, cars, planes, computers, Elvis and hamburgers. Somehow we have built some of the best sturtures and communications systems anywhere. Sure, we could do more- like learn the Metric system- that would better us but I don’t think we are doing bad for such a “dumb” nation.
Kev,You are missing the big picture. It was our forefathers that developed this great nation. And the greater we told ourselves we were, the lazier we became. We reached the top of the bubble and said we made it and quit trying.
Your kids are getting MAYBE ¾ the education that you received. The degradation is accelerating. We are headed in a very very bad direction. Our kids and their kids are in jeopardy. There is not ENOUGH being said about the issue.
The kids in China are getting twice the education that our kids get. They are going to school year round and for longer hours. They are cranking up an engineer production engine that will wipe us out. China has taken our low paying jobs here to finance their future. We trade our future for short term gain. We are about to get our a$$es handed to us in a big way.
As far as I know, the standards they teach in the U.S. are equal in standards to other countries.
The difference is the application of that education in relative terms of time between “High School” and College.
Other countries tend to be more traditional and expect their children when of age to either work, go to a trade school or attend an university.
This doesn’t always occur in the U.S. because kids after High School think it is “play time” and will fritter away a few years of opportunity before they decide to get serious about life.
Those who teach at the University level could probably tell you more accurately than I, that the average age of a student has risen substantially.
This average age phenomena has more meaning that first meets the eye. First, it means that the retained knowledge of subjects such as the math and science has dissipated into a record of useless record.
There is a lot more re-education than there used to be.
People are attended college at a later age. This will skew the result when comparing U.S. scores to Foreign scores.
However, the number of foreign students attending U.S. Universities has risen to an all time high.
Which means to me, that the quality of education has not declined, only our own kids motives to attend has declined.
America still beats out Turkey when it comes to being more knowledgeable about science.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/21329204.html
I’ll pass, thanks.
Ya know why lawyers go to law school, of course (tip to VT): There’s no math portion on the LSAT (thank God).
“I’ll pass, thanks.
Ya know why lawyers go to law school, of course (tip to VT): There’s no math portion on the LSAT (thank God).”I beg to differ. The LSAT is FULL of math. It is just that the math problems are in words but if you cannot think in terms or algebra, you will NOT do well on the LSAT because you have to be able to sketch out the problem on paper. I invite people to take a few sample questions on the interent. Try this one:An amusement park roller coaster includes five cars, numbered 1 through 5 from front to back. Each car accommodates up to two riders, seated side by side. Six people—Tom, Gwen, Laurie, Mark, Paul and Jack—are riding the coaster at the same time.Laurie is sharing a car.
Mark is not sharing a car and is seated immediately behind an empty car.
Tom is not sharing a car with either Gwen or Paul.
Gwen is riding in either the third or fourth car.
Which of the following groups of riders could occupy the second car?.(A) Laurie only(B) Tom and Gwen(C) Laurie and Mark(D) Jack and Tom(E) Jack, Gwen, and PaulAnswer · Premise and Rules
If Gwen is riding immediately behind Laurie’s car and immediately ahead of Tom’s car, all of the following must be true EXCEPT:.(A) Gwen is riding in the fourth car.(B) Paul is riding in the third car.(C) Tom is riding in the fifth car.(D) Laurie is riding in the third car.(E) The first car is empty.Answer · Premise and Rules
Which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?.(A) Neither Tom nor Gwen is sharing a car with…….. another rider(B) Neither Mark nor Jack is sharing a car with…….. another rider.(C) Tom is sharing a car, and Jack is sharing a car.(D) Gwen is sharing a car, and Paul is sharing a car.(E) Tom is sharing a car, and Gwen is sharing a car.Answer · Premise and Rules
If Paul is riding in the second car, how many different combinations of riders are possible for the third car?.(A) one(B) two(C) three(D) four(E) fiveAnswer · Premise and Rules
Assume that a seventh rider is riding with Jack in the first car, but that all other rules remain unchanged. Which of the following is a complete and accurate list of the riders who might be riding in the fifth car?.(A) Mark(B) Gwen, Paul(C) Tom, Laurie, Paul(D) Tom, Laurie, Mark(E) Tom, Paul, Laurie, MarkAnswer · Premise and Rules
Good God, Kev, I read that problem and practically broke out in hives. I just prayed for that section to get over with. Then a second one appeared (as you may know, one of them didn’t count, as the questions were being tested for future exams, but the testee doesn’t know which one). Nearly walked out right there.
I’ll freely admit that anything approaching algebra is to be avoided like the plague for me. I am math ignorant, and won’t try to claim otherwise. My math career ended with Agebra I in high school; I took one basic math class in undergrad, and had to drop it once. It is the huge, gaping hole in my fundamental knowledge base. And the thought of algebra scares the hell out of me.
I’d probably pay to have SOMEONE teach me basic algebra in a way I can understand, and that makes logical sense. I’d best be careful what I wish for; one of you might take me up on that . . . . .
BTW – as you can probably guess, I did better than fine on the LSAT.