The Need for 'Gatekeeper' Courses in English

By Margaret Storch

Current reform efforts tend to focus on mathematics and science. Not only does talk of reform generally involve raising standards and achievement in these two areas, but also, no other subjects receive the kind of federal support extended to programs in math and science.

Not surprisingly, the central thrust of initiatives aimed at enhancing the educational opportunities of disadvantaged students has come to involve restructuring high school mathematics courses. Low-level "consumer math" courses, which do not introduce students to the more advanced and complex levels of mathematics, are being eliminated and policies established to insure that all students study algebra. The College Board's admirable Equity 2000 national education-reform project, taking as its premise that algebra is the "gatekeeper" to college and academic opportunity, works with certain high-risk school districts to insure that all students take high school courses in algebra.

It would be impossible to overestimate the importance of solid learning in math and science for students' cognitive growth or preparation for more advanced levels of education. But we are tending to overlook the equally fundamental importance to intellectual development of English and the language arts. People sometimes appear to believe that reading and writing are superficial skills, whereas math is the real mental activity. Ability in reading and writing, though, is intimately connected to the capacity for thinking clearly and for organizing ideas. In fact, high school and college mathematics instructors often report that their students' most serious deficiencies are language-related--for example, an inability to read...