Sunday, February 25, 2007
Gasp--Agreement with the New York Times
The word on the street has always been that the SATs were hardest about 1965 and have been dumbed down since then in an attempt not to humiliate the ever dumber test takers who still manage to get more wrong of the ever easier questions so that scores have declined ever since the mid-60s. (Between 1972 and 1992, the combined math and verbal scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) fell from an average of 937 to 899).
I don't know if the dumbing down is true, but I always thought the guys about 4 or 5 years ahead of me in High School (I graduated in 1971 and took the SATs, and did OK, the year before) were smarter and generally everyone after was, on average, a little bit dumber each decade. I no longer care if it's true or not, because it fits my world picture so well as to need no factual backing. Besides, such a belief feeds my ego.
The whole idea of the testing done state and country wide in the No Child Left Behind bureaucracy is to get a handle on how much (or how little) the children are learing in school compared to past test scores; so it doesn't do any good to dumb the tests down. But that's what their doing. They certainly were doing it on The Wire this past season, which I am aware is just a TV show.
I guess I could swallow all the left leaning teacher culture and solidly leftist teacher's unions are doing to indoctrinate the students to the teacher's politics if they were actually teaching the students well. They are not. Certainly not after grade school.
Indeed, things are so bad, I'm with Mike Rosen now; there is no hope to improve the system from within. We need to allow for competition with non government run institutions with vouchers. There will still be problems, but we just can't have the next generation be too ignorant for words.
I don't know if the dumbing down is true, but I always thought the guys about 4 or 5 years ahead of me in High School (I graduated in 1971 and took the SATs, and did OK, the year before) were smarter and generally everyone after was, on average, a little bit dumber each decade. I no longer care if it's true or not, because it fits my world picture so well as to need no factual backing. Besides, such a belief feeds my ego.
The whole idea of the testing done state and country wide in the No Child Left Behind bureaucracy is to get a handle on how much (or how little) the children are learing in school compared to past test scores; so it doesn't do any good to dumb the tests down. But that's what their doing. They certainly were doing it on The Wire this past season, which I am aware is just a TV show.
I guess I could swallow all the left leaning teacher culture and solidly leftist teacher's unions are doing to indoctrinate the students to the teacher's politics if they were actually teaching the students well. They are not. Certainly not after grade school.
Indeed, things are so bad, I'm with Mike Rosen now; there is no hope to improve the system from within. We need to allow for competition with non government run institutions with vouchers. There will still be problems, but we just can't have the next generation be too ignorant for words.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 12:02 PM 
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Rog,
I know you are not purposefully trying to annoy me but invoking Mike Rosen will usually do the trick. Mike Rosen has stated that he can walk into any Middle or HS class in CO and teach it w/o preparation. He has a standing invitation to walk into Catherine's classroom.
Have you talked to any teachers about NCLB or CSAPs? The former places difficult, impossible, impractical, or unrealistic unfunded mandates on our public schools while instead of teaching, public school teachers prepare their students for CSAPs.
I am waiting for Mr. Rosen to put his $ where his mouth is. In consideration of the size of that particular orifice, it will require considerable wealth.
I am inclined to agree with you about the decline of intelligence at least as measured in terms of how we were measured.
I stick w/ my solution for fixing public education: compensate teachers like lawyers.
I know you are not purposefully trying to annoy me but invoking Mike Rosen will usually do the trick. Mike Rosen has stated that he can walk into any Middle or HS class in CO and teach it w/o preparation. He has a standing invitation to walk into Catherine's classroom.
Have you talked to any teachers about NCLB or CSAPs? The former places difficult, impossible, impractical, or unrealistic unfunded mandates on our public schools while instead of teaching, public school teachers prepare their students for CSAPs.
I am waiting for Mr. Rosen to put his $ where his mouth is. In consideration of the size of that particular orifice, it will require considerable wealth.
I am inclined to agree with you about the decline of intelligence at least as measured in terms of how we were measured.
I stick w/ my solution for fixing public education: compensate teachers like lawyers.
# posted by 
: 2:19 PM
: 2:19 PM
"I stick w/ my solution for fixing public education: compensate teachers like lawyers."
Hold it.
1. Not all lawyers are rich. And we don't get three months off every year.
2. All my friends who are teachers are now retired and getting nice pensions. I have to be in court to argue a stupid motion at 9:00 am tomorrow. And my client will probably stiff me.
Hold it.
1. Not all lawyers are rich. And we don't get three months off every year.
2. All my friends who are teachers are now retired and getting nice pensions. I have to be in court to argue a stupid motion at 9:00 am tomorrow. And my client will probably stiff me.
# posted by : 8:34 PM
: 8:34 PM
Tony is a lawyer as well, but I had no idea you were too, Peter b. My condolences. I have to admit that I have no idea what he means about compensation like a lawyer. I did teach High School for a year (and I want to give it another try before I die) and I'm not sure the teachers deserve a whole lot of money. Not sure at all.
Rog and Peter B,
Of course not all lawyers are well compensated but certainly almost all are bettter compensated than almost all teachers.
The befits are good--at leat in Douglas co. The pensions are PERA and Ihave yet to figure out whether those are good, bad, or indifferent.
I am not suggesting we compenstae current teachers like lawyers. I am suggesting we do away w/ "Teachers R Us" degrees and hire people who would otherwise become lawyers to teach.
Of course not all lawyers are well compensated but certainly almost all are bettter compensated than almost all teachers.
The befits are good--at leat in Douglas co. The pensions are PERA and Ihave yet to figure out whether those are good, bad, or indifferent.
I am not suggesting we compenstae current teachers like lawyers. I am suggesting we do away w/ "Teachers R Us" degrees and hire people who would otherwise become lawyers to teach.
# posted by : 9:51 AM
: 9:51 AM
Yes to less lawyers, more clever teachers (and the ones who actually can teach will stick to it). PERA is the best benefits plan this side of Detroit. Sorry we misunderstood you.
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