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Flypaper

Cover-up!

Michael J. Petrilli
9.22.2008

Fraud! Misleading information! A huge price tag for America! I'm not talking about the mortgage-backed securities meltdown. I'm referring to the new TOM LOVELESS ALGEBRA STUDY.

AP story here. The main point: The number of kids taking "Algebra" doubled from 1990 to 2007--but test scores for these 8th graders have actually declined. Call it the name game: the prestige of the course labels goes up, the amount of learning goes down. Just wait till reformers tackle "Calculus."

Tags: Algebra

President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. PetrilliĀ is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

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