Welcome to college. Can’t even do middle school math? No problem . . . sign up here for your $100,000 student loan to take remedial courses.

Photo above - no, this is NOT a parking garage for Cybertrucks. It's the library at the University of California, San Diego. But there's not much room for books, is there?

The original article titled “The College Students Who Can’t do Elementary Math” is still behind the Wall Street Journal's paywall. Hence, the link to Fox News (below). 10% of entering freshmen at the University of California can’t do basic math. They were admitted anyway and are now taking - and paying tuition for - remedial math. (What change should you give back from $20 for something that costs $18.99?)

There are a lot of different directions we can go with this. Are 10% of the nation’s $2 trillion in student loans because public schools are incompetent, and lie about their high school diplomas? That SAT college admission scores are also worthless? That a college diploma itself is becoming pointless in the job marketplace? That we won’t need math anyway, because of spreadsheets? And we won’t need to write anything, because of ChatGPT? Maybe this death spiral is nothing to worry about.

California has one the worst public school systems in the nation. Ranked 40th. (see link below). Despite spending $18,000 a year per public school student. That’s actually MORE than the $15,000 annual tuition at UC San Diego, where so many freshmen can’t add or subtract. Of course, your tuition is “free” if you get a scholarship or meet some sort of hardship/historically disadvantaged test.

Please do not snark that this is a problem of California’s own making. The same thing is certainly happening in NYC, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Baltimore, and Biloxi Mississippi.

There aren’t enough jobs being created in America for people who lack basic math and language skills. Starbucks barristas, McDonalds french fry cooks, and Amazon pickers are all endangered species.

If we refuse to fix our public-school crisis, then we should prepare for a lifetime of UBI for kids who play videogames and smoke pot all day. Those are possibly our only choices.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

UC San Diego finds remedial math needs up 30-fold since 2020 | Fox News

States Ranked by Education - 2023 Rankings | Scholaroo

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

Some people naturally find arithmetic (such as $20 - $18.99), let alone maths, very hard to learn.

I did!

However, this appears too widespread for individual weaknesses, so has anyone identified the reason(s)?

It is ironical that the one State that so leads the IT trade is also the worst for innumeracy. Could this reflect children, even many adults, falling into the trap of thinking that because a computer can do sums, they need not be able to do so personally?

I once put my nephew straight on that, when he reckoned you don't need learn maths because you have a calculator. I pointed out that the calculator can't do its work unless you know what to ask it to calculate, and how!

We do see widespread, poor reading and numeracy skills in the UK too, but possibly for different reasons.

One commonly suggested here, is that the more deprived your background or area the less you will learn but I am not convinced because everyone has basically the same education. If it is so, it might reflect school pupils seeing no point in making any effort.

A friend who was a teacher in one poor area said she met a few parents who did not want their children educated, because they could see no purpose, no potential escape. Or perhaps a few were jealous of their offspring having better opportunites than they and their own parents had.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ArishMell everyone might (approximately) get the same education opportunites.

but there are vast differences in how students

1 - pay attention in class

2 - diligence in completing homework

3 - reading outside of school assigned texts

4 - choice of television/film viewing materials.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida Oh yes, I agree with 1 to 3 but I reserve judgement on Point 4 simply because I don't know enough about that!

I have no TV and of course we live in different countries so do have very different TV channels.

The implication is that fewer students are at all diligent, perhaps can't be bothered, but if not, why not. Is something putting them off? Fewer potential work or higher education opportunities so less motive to work? I don't know.

AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M

@SusanInFlorida as an educator I agree w that 100%. I offer all my students a first class education. Whether they take advantage of it is up to them .