UC stirs furious debate over what high school math skills are needed
Briana Hampton, a San Gabriel High School junior, is determined to get into a four-year university to achieve her dream of becoming a social worker or psychiatrist. But she feared she would fail a third-year math course heavy on advanced algebra. To meet her math requirement, she opted instead for an introductory data science course, approved a few years ago by the University of California as an alternative to advanced algebra. She loves the challenge of learning how to code, conduct surveys and analyze data on topics relevant to her life — sleep hours, stress levels, snacks consumed. She’s also boasting a B average in the class, compared to the Ds and Fs earned in her first-year math class. “I’ve always struggled with math, but I heard that [data science] was like a really good class and something new and easier than algebra,” Briana said. But the data science option is gone, at least for now. Last month UC notified California high schools that three of the most popular data science courses no longer count …