UC lecturers warn of severe preparation deficits among first-year students
By
The Economist
Summary
Over 1,800 maths and science lecturers at the University of California signed an open letter highlighting that first-year undergraduates are increasingly arriving without basic skills needed to succeed. At UC Berkeley, 20-30% of students in an early calculus course show "severe preparation deficits," forcing instructors to reteach middle-school mathematics.
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Key quotes
· 3 pulledFirst-year undergraduates, they say, are increasingly arriving without the basic skills they need to succeed.
At the campus in Berkeley, they write, some 20-30% of students taking an early calculus course turn up displaying 'severe preparation deficits'.
The challenge has become so great, they add, that instructors are having to reteach middle-school mathematics.
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