New legislation introduced by Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich would revise math requirements for graduation.
Right now, Michigan students have to complete Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra II and a math elective taken senior year so they can graduate.
Ananich's bill, Senate Bill 496, would replace the Algebra II requirement with a math elective, like statistics, personal finance, accounting or similar courses.
“Every teacher has a student in their classroom who is always asking ‘when will I use this in real life?’” said Sen. Ananich, a former high school teacher, in a release. “That student has a point. Math literacy matters, and we need to be setting young people up with math skills that align with their professional goals. Students are being charged with learning polynomials, logarithms and the quadratic equation, but are leaving high school without a solid understanding of how to balance a checkbook, make investments or calculate basic statistics.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Career Readiness.
"If you want to be an architect or an engineer or an astronaut, we want our state's math courses to set you up for success," Ananich said. "And if you want be a restaurant owner, factory line worker or the next state senator, we want to set you up for success there, too."
Read the whole bill here.
