Who decides who takes Algebra 2?

If we’re concerned about relevance of curriculum, why pick on algebra? Math is cumulative, and even if a student doesn’t remember logarithms and quadratics, at least algebra gives her good solid practice in the more elementary areas she does need to know: fractions, percents, solving simple linear problems.

How about looking at the English curriculum instead? Why are students wasting time doing so much fiction writing and literary analysis in high school? What most adults need is skill in expository writing.