Algebra class is hard — so should we stop requiring it?

That's what polisci prof Andrew Hacker argues in a NYT op-ed:

Algebra is an onerous stumbling block for all kinds of students: disadvantaged and affluent, black and white.... Nor is it clear that the math we learn in the classroom has any relation to the quantitative reasoning we need on the job.... Of course, people should learn basic numerical skills: decimals, ratios and estimating, sharpened by a good grounding in arithmetic....

Quantitative literacy clearly is useful in weighing all manner of public policies, from the Affordable Care Act, to the costs and benefits of environmental regulation, to the impact of climate change. Being able to detect and identify ideology at work behind the numbers is of obvious use. Ours is fast becoming a statistical age, which raises the bar for informed citizenship. What is needed is not textbook formulas but greater understanding of where various numbers come from, and what they actually convey....

Instead of investing so much of our academic energy in a subject that blocks further attainment for much of our population, I propose that we start thinking about alternatives. Thus mathematics teachers at every level could create exciting courses in what I call “citizen statistics.”... It could, for example, teach students how the Consumer Price Index is computed, what is included and how each item in the index is weighted — and include discussion about which items should be included and what weights they should be given.