On the Diane Rehm show just a few minutes ago I argued that algebra skills come in handy when you are thinking about taking out or refinancing a mortgage. Andrew Hacker, arguing the point that we should just do away with required algebra, suggested that mortgages are too hard even when you have algebra skills and that people should just use financial advisors to help them understand that stuff.
Diane was very good about moving the conversation ever forward, but here are a couple of counterpoints. First of all, if you actually have taken algebra and understand it, you should be able to solve simple problems such as "how many months of lower mortgage payments does it take to justify the closing costs of refinancing?" That's not rocket science. But you have to be able to appreciate that this is the key question when it comes to refinancing -- if you're not going to be in the house long enough to recoup the savings, then don't refinance!
Second, consumers' trust in "experts" who could advise them is exactly what led to the big mortgage debacle of the past few years. Consumers want advice for as close to nothing as possible. What type of advisor will give out "free" advice? One who is getting kickbacks from the purveyors of whatever he (or she) is recommending. So we get people duped into taking out loans they can't afford, etc. There is no substitute for having an empowered consumer.
When you get down to it, I agree with Hacker on one thing (as I argued in my recently issued AEI brief): we are setting people up for failure with our current penchant for pushing higher-order math skills at the expense of mastering the basics. My brief points out a related problem: in order to push these skills we've watered down the curriculum, meaning that we aren't offering the same quality instruction to math "superstars" as we once did.
Hacker's position amounts to throwing out the baby with the bath water. My take on algebra instruction: mend it, don't end it.
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