Excused From Algebra

Re “Schools Get Waivers for Algebra Law,” April 26: Thirteen thousand high school seniors in California -- 4% of the total number of seniors -- have not been taught the algebra required by law for them to graduate high school. But that’s OK. Their school districts “overlooked” this rule, and since it’s “unfair” to “punish” these students because of mistakes adults made, these 13,000 seniors will get their diplomas without having to meet the algebra requirement.

Where do I, as a taxpayer, sign up to get a refund of my taxes that were supposedly used to teach these children algebra? And if my money was not used for this stated purpose, just what was it used for? Young people who thought they were ready for college-level courses will end up in remedial math, learning what they should have been taught in high school. Others will struggle with bosses who want the job done and don’t want to hear, “I didn’t get that in school.” Hundreds of school bureaucrats are breathing collective sighs of relief because they screwed up royally but still have their jobs and benefits and pensions and full funding of their schools, with no punishment for “overlooking” and not implementing a state law.

Annie Caroline Schuler

West Hollywood

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Having observed my own large brood of college graduates, it seems to me that basic math would certainly suffice in most fields of endeavor, unless the student has a particular bent for a career requiring higher math courses. The student who excels in higher math may not do so well in English literature or history. I’ve seen it work both ways and applaud the waiver for the sometimes agonizing algebra requirement.

Pat Ostrye

Monrovia

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That some 200 school districts are getting exemptions from the state’s law making algebra a graduation requirement is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Many youngsters who do not have learning disabilities nevertheless have trouble mastering basic arithmetic (common fractions, decimals and percents) and have little or no chance of passing a legitimate algebra class. To avoid the public relations disaster of tens of thousands of youngsters failing to graduate, look for the state to significantly water down the algebra curriculum so that it will bear little resemblance to the college-prep algebra class that we had to take a generation ago.

Michael Wiener

Encino