No surprise here. 90% of 200 (that would be 180) CUNY (City University of New York) freshmen were unable to solve a basic algebra problem. This is not unique to NYC; high school graduates all over the US are unable to make change without the cash register calculating it for them.

High school grads today may not be able to do basic math but, by golly, I bet they were taught that "it takes a village" and it is perfectly normal that "Heather has two mommies".

CUNY's got math problem: Report shows many freshmen from city HS fail at basic algebra

November 12th 2009

More city kids are graduating from high school, but that doesn't mean they can do college math.

Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen - suggesting city schools aren't preparing them, a CUNY report shows.

. . .

During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem, the report by the CUNY Council of Math Chairs found. Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal.

. . .

"I just did this earlier. Now I forgot it again," Jennifer Fortune, 18, who graduated from Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow High School, said when asked to answer one of the questions. "I was only required to take two years of math in high school, but I forgot a lot of it."


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