<p>Back to the question posed in the NYT article: does everyone really need to take higher math?</p>
<p>Should the U.S. consider a two tier high school diploma, like some other countries do (e.g., Germany). Maybe secondary school education up to 11th grade is just fine for most people. If a kid wants to be a plumber, then why force him to factor polynomials. He’s losing a year of income by being forced to stay in high school thru grade 12. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be better that the non-academically inclined kid graduate with an 11-year diploma than drop out of school entirely and have no credential at all. And taxpayers wouldn’t have to fund education for unmotivated kids who maybe don’t need a 12th year in school.</p>