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OP does not have children and doesn't know much about what goes on in public schools in particular today.
I personally like standardized testing and I do feel it gives a good snap shot of what a child knows at a certain point in time. Also the tests can be use to increase the skills of the child in areas of which they are lacking.
Kids have taken standardized tests for many years. I remember taking the "Iowa" test when I was in 3rd grade back in the 80s. All the students in my school starting in 3rd grade took the Iowa test. As a TAG student I had to take many other tests as well over the course of a school year.
My kids today take our states standardized test. They also do something called a "Star Assessment" 2 or 3 times during the year. The Star Assessment is used to see where kids are lacking in specific skills during the school year so that they can be helped in specific areas.
So IMO they are a useful tool and during the elementary years especially there is no way for little kids to learn how to "beat the test." The results IMO should be reviewed and used along with classwork/teacher recommendation in order to ensure that the child learns basic skills to a proficient level.
I'll also mention that I have a teenage son who doesn't always do well on in-class grades. He gets very bored in class and hates doing worksheets so doesn't get good grades in all subjects, including math because he doesn't like to "take notes" and do worksheets. However, according to standardized assessments he is highly proficient in math and in class on his computer adaptive class (where he is given math by the computer based on his skills and what he get correct) he never has any issues with math and is in the 99th percentile for our state's math assessment and the Star Assessment for math. Due to that even though he gets Cs and once got a D in math class (where he got in big trouble at home) his school doesn't worry that he is not math proficient in the skills themselves. According them he is a math genius.
I'm not a big fan of test, because they test knowledge not skills. No doubt, kids have knowledge of mathematics. But having knowledge of something isn't the same thing as having it as a skill. Could they use advanced mathematics in a practical situation? Could the at least make some rudimentary mathematical model which talks about speed, distance, and fuel of a plane (for example). No they actually couldn't. They may remember the equations or formulas but can't use them in any meaningful way. This is why I'm against test as being the biggest measuring stick. They have their place, but the bottomline is that having a good grade in math is pointless if you don't even know how to use the mathematics you're being taught.
In the ethos of a ever more enlightened society, it's a cute read. However, back on planet Earth, not much is gained by flooding the market with high-tech over-educated individuals making 40K with a MSEE, is there? Don't believe me? Ask THEM?
I think one of THE most blatant things being overlooked is the trades!!! Every company has a CEO. and only one gal/guy gets that job and believe me, he/she probably didn't go to a state college to get it. Get it? There are TONS of folks slogging away at low-paying, high-skilled jobs soon to be outsourced to India.....
How about the trades? I have a handyman that comes and does projects for me from time to time. He's an animal along with his crew. Great work, fair price. Hist W-2? Typically 200K a year. And he is small time. Another friend of mine has an older brother in Risk Management, PHd. He worked in insurance his whole career. He told him and I that THE number one growth industry he saw, and he saw them ALL, that made more people millionaires faster than anything else was HVAC.....3-5 year gestation for a guy/gal with some savvy, inpeccable work ethic, and a drive that was unending......at the end of 5 years, they were typically hauling in 200-300K net....worked like dogs, never gave up. Note, I said you have to do this on your OWN!!!! Working for others they would be good to make 70K. Thats' the system folks.
There is a HUGE need for english speaking talented tradesmen/women who can REALLY do electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc....many start with a truck and some gumption....oddly enough, they start out with more than those coming out of school with an "advanced literature degree". They actually already KNOW they won't be running any company.....except their own....
We need high skilled, no doubt. And that extends to the trades. It turns a LOT of kids from unuseful, baristas at starbucks with two degrees into tax paying individuals with dignity and eventually wealth albeit without the respect they deserve.....all the way to the bank.....and no, I'm not a tradesman and I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn last night.
What we should do is invest in the TRADE schools and start turning out better domestic IT types, welders, plumbers, carpenters, etc and not look down on them. Their tax dollars are every bit as important as yours or mine. Time we recognize that and get many a dropout off the dole and BACK to work....
Hard to outsource your toilet when it's clogged up and you need it cleared and will probably pay ANYTHING to get it done......"Michael" from Darwad India is not likely to helping you please with that....is he?
There is a need. There is NO need for more lit and arts graduates. Starbucks is full.
Wanted to say I also agree with this.
I will also note that I don't see people looking down on trades either. I would like my son mentioned above to get a college degree but he actually goes to a STEM based school that provides a path to apprenticeship programs and offers free courses in various trades including HVAC. It is a STEM and vocational training high school. There are still a lot of areas across the country that offer vocational training and there are many programs that offer this sort of training.
Getting an education after high school does not always mean that people want all kids to go to college. I think the idea that this is the case (that a majority of parents or society in general thinks all kids should go to college) is false. I want all children to receive a basic education where they are proficient in reading, writing, math and other social and hard sciences by 12th grade. After 12th grade, I want those kids to go out and either increase their education to do whatever career goals they want to do or to be productive members of our workforce and society.
For decades American education has been focused solely on equity of outcome. The constant dumbing down of curriculums makes that apparent. We need to get with the rest of the world and accept that not every kid is college material. In fact, not every kid is even HS material.
Bingo! My posts states the same, AND provides evidence of the result of the INTENTIONAL dumbing-down.
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But, if anyone brings up the dreaded word (tracking) people lose their minds since we've been conditioned to believe that all kids can achieve at the same level if we just figure out the magic educational pill that will make it happen. We're wasting time and talent trying to raise all boats unlike other countries who put the onus on kids to achieve and then allows them to reap the rewards or pay the consequences.
IMO, we should track kids at the HS level and provide appropriate training for each achievement level. Just because a kid isn't suited to college doesn't mean they shouldn't have a path to success in another area.
Tracking, skill-level/ability grouping, whatever one wants to call it... needs to happen LONG before high school. I've explained in my earlier post how some kids can easily tackle a high school curriculum and high school courses as early as 4th/5th grade.
We do need a new public education system (by grade):
K-4: learn basic math and reading
5-6: critical thinking and questioning
Kids with low academic potential stop and learn trades
6-8: hard sciences
Kids with mediocre academic potential switch to a higher skilled trade route
9 + kids with high academic potential specialize in a field
The best thing to do would be the completely privatize education. And when it comes time to get the diploma the student takes the government's exam. That it. Cut the education taxes from people's tax bill and watch the innovation from private education companies in competition with others.
I do think computer programming and software engineering should be a trade. It is something that can be self taught, and actually most computer programmers are self taught. It is something that can be learned relatively fast, and it's something you only get better at when you apply it. While it does have some roots in academia, I do feel that an academic background doesn't help you become a better programmer.
Academia may give you some background and perspetive, but it seems to only help AFTER you've been a programmer for awhile. For example, I spent years as a programmer (or Software engineer), and it was only maybe 5 years ago I decided to learn the whole background of asymptotic notations. And some of the mathematics needed for computer programming could make you a better programmer, for the most part you either have it or you don't. So I do think computer programming should be looked at as an actual trade.
With that said, I always felt that computer science was something completely different with different goals. For example if you want to know more about the models and theories behind computation, then computer science does a good job at demonstrating that. It's just not needed to become a "corporate programmer".
The best thing to do would be the completely privatize education. And when it comes time to get the diploma the student takes the government's exam. That it. Cut the education taxes from people's tax bill and watch the innovation from private education companies in competition with others.
Totally agree with this! Except for the government exam, but it's a step in the right direction.
I'm a native English speaker, and not only that my family has been in the USA since 1740. If I incorrectly spell some things, it's generally because I type super fast, rush through my post, and generally don't proof read.
Your spelling is OK. It's your grammar and syntax that pegs you as a foreigner.
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The USA still greatly out produce most countries, and actually I don't think any country actually comes close to the USA's level of production.
Aside from bad grammar ("the USA still greatly out produces") you keep spouting the globalist lie about the USA's out producing all other countries. This crowd includes "production" of electrical power, refinery products and mining in its definition of production.
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I'll check it out. But PA is part of the rustbelt, and big manufacturing jobs is a big part of the labor market in much of PA.
Please tell me of a PA manufacturer that employes many thousands of workers at one site.
I'm not a big fan of test, because they test knowledge not skills. No doubt, kids have knowledge of mathematics. But having knowledge of something isn't the same thing as having it as a skill. Could they use advanced mathematics in a practical situation? Could the at least make some rudimentary mathematical model which talks about speed, distance, and fuel of a plane (for example). No they actually couldn't. They may remember the equations or formulas but can't use them in any meaningful way. This is why I'm against test as being the biggest measuring stick. They have their place, but the bottomline is that having a good grade in math is pointless if you don't even know how to use the mathematics you're being taught.
You need to have the knowledge of the skills to put math into practice in the real world.
As stated, my son goes to a STEM high school. His math classes are based around real world applications for half the class and the other half is the computer adaptive class where the kids go over the actual skills.
Math in many public schools today are not just worksheets anymore. The worksheets that my son doesn't like to do are basically sheets that he has to write down the steps he took on an engineering project they are working on. He also has to take notes about why they chose to use a particular concept/method in their project/experiment. It is very hands on.
When they are taught formulas in the computer adaptive portion of class, the other half of that lesson is a project whereas student choose which formulas to use in the application of their project.
So again, it comes back to the fact that you don't know what goes on in many public schools today. Math is taught MUCH differently today than it was even when we were in school (you are probably around the same age I am). Of course this does vary by school district and even schools themselves, but even when my oldest kid was younger, they used computer adaptive practice for learning math skills and they did "projects" related to their math skills.
Your spelling is OK. It's your grammar and syntax that pegs you as a foreigner.
Aside from bad grammar ("the USA still greatly out produces") you keep spouting the globalist lie about the USA's out producing all other countries. This crowd includes "production" of electrical power, refinery products and mining in its definition of production.
Please tell me of a PA manufacturer that employes many thousands of workers at one site.
Just wanted to note, I live in the rust belt (in Ohio) and we have a Jeep plant that employs thousands in one site not too far from where I live. I have a lot of relatives who work there and my family has worked there for about 3 generations now. Along with Jeep, they have other Chrysler manufacturing outlets right next door to Jeep. I believe in total, they employ about 5000 people on that one site.
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