Rutgers prof: Math students got A's in high school, but can't add fractions

"New Jersey has spent the last decade lowering K-12 standards," writes Chad Aldeman. Now its flagship public university, Rutgers at New Brunswick, is adding adding lower-level math classes to serve a growing number of students who aren't prepared for college math. The state university system is "test optional."

Many of his precalculus students claim they earned A's or B's in precalculus -- or calculus -- in high school, Rutgers math professor Steve Safran told Aldeman. Another instructor complained about students who arrive in college "unable to add fractions without a calculator" or understand a problem with a variable.

Rutgers is seeing a slight increase in well-prepared students who test into advanced calculus, Aldeman writes. But there's a surge in elementary algebra, intermediate algebra and other classes normally taught in high school.

New Jersey students are supposed to pass algebra, geometry and at least one more math class to earn a high school diploma, writes Aldeman. But there are lots of alternate paths to a diploma. "Even as state officials celebrate a record-high 91.8% graduation rate, 40% of this year’s graduates failed to pass the state’s high school math exam last year."

It's not just New Jersey, he writes."Most states have large gaps between graduation and math proficiency rates," he writes.

University of California at San Diego also is seeing a rising share of poorly prepared first-year students, including some with math skills below the high school level, according to a 2025 report. Under pressure from the faculty, UC regents are considering an end to its test-blind admissions policy.

Math is cumulative, Aldeman writes. Students who don't learn their times tables will struggle with fractions. "If they are shaky on fractions and decimals, they’re likely to have a hard time with algebra."

Lowering standards boosts graduation rates, he writes. "But if math gaps aren’t addressed early, catching up is harder and costlier, and students pay the price."

Nation wide, some states have lowered proficiency cutoff scores on state tests, "creating an honesty gap that has masked falling achievement," write Weadé James and Paige Shoemaker DeMio in a Center for American Progress report.

"Among students designated as college-ready by their high school coursework, only 47.6 percent are projected to pass intermediate college algebra," they write. "Consequently, colleges nationwide, including elite institutions such as Harvard University, have had to establish introductory and remedial math courses to close foundational algebraic skill gaps.^"

Among other things, the report recommends screening all students for math performance so those who need it can get extra help before they're so far behind that it's hopeless.