I hate our education system.

[mike_c]

12. well, the fact remains that most of our students are quantitatively illiterate...

...or nearly so, and it's their primary and secondary school experiences that aren't adequately preparing them. That's simply the way it is, and we need a solution. Since I don't teach K-12, I don't have any direct stake in Common Core. Indeed, I don't know squat about it. However, I do find it disturbing that very simple arithmetic is being held up as an example of work that's too difficult for high-schoolers. That's precisely the attitude that seems to underlie the diminished quantitative competence we see in American college students. My response up thread was not about Common Core-- it was about whether simple math is appropriate for ninth grade high school students.