Numbers Don't Lie... Or Tell The Truth
The test scores are out and guess what... the U.S isn't doing all that hot. The question is, should we start to panic, or is it time to take a step back and look again at what's going on.
You can probably guess that my view, simple by suggesting it, is that we need to take a step back and look at the situation again.
Last week PISA, an international body formed in part through the UN, released its latest batch of test results. Every three years they test a number of 15 year-old kids around the world in hopes to gleam the level of educational attainment in the respective countries in the areas of math, science, and reading. The results showed that the ranking of the United States fell from where it was three years ago.
But looking only at that is a mistake, because the details within the numbers are what is important. For example, seeing only the ranking would lead you to assume the issue is that student scores in the US dropped. The reality, however, is that scores mostly stayed the same, while other nations moved up.
This is... mixed news. It's mostly bad news because it means that despite all the time, money, and effort expended on trying to boost results, we haven't actually achieved those ends. That means we are doing something wrong. But you have to stop falling before you can start climbing. The fact that scores haven't gotten worse means that no damage has been done, or at least none that can't be reversed.
However, there are many already who have looked at these results from this one imperfect measurement, and have come to the conclusion that American students are in a death spiral and that the government has done nothing but wasted money.
Only a small part of that is correct. We are not in a death spiral. We may not be the best in the world, but we aren't nearly the worst either. The fact that our students aren't scoring higher is troubling, but it's not so severe that we should act like there is a guillotine hanging over our heads by a single thread.
What we need to do is focus on the causes of these results. I did a series earlier this year stating my view of what was wrong with the education system as it stands now. I will reiterate my belief that the issues are greater than just the idea that teachers aren't teaching well enough, or that students aren't staying in classrooms long enough.
We are too one dimensional in our thinking on this issue. We've equated classroom time to being the cure to all the issues in the educational system. But, like giving someone aspirin for the pneumonia, we're prescribing a treatment that doesn't actually work. It's about quality, not quantity.
Furthermore, the degree to which students can focus when they get to school is also important. If they don't have a good home situation, or don't get enough to eat let alone proper nutrition, or if they are too stressed or have too many points of focus, then there is little that will be achieved in the classroom.
We as a nation have done little to alleviate any of these issues. From before they're old enough to crawl, kids are pushed and pushed nowadays with the idea that making money, making as much money as possible, is all that matters. Even while mentioning these issues, little effort is put towards solving them. We won't be seeing our world ranking rise much if any in the near future unless those things change. All things considered, we aren't doing too bad right now.
You can probably guess that my view, simple by suggesting it, is that we need to take a step back and look at the situation again.
Last week PISA, an international body formed in part through the UN, released its latest batch of test results. Every three years they test a number of 15 year-old kids around the world in hopes to gleam the level of educational attainment in the respective countries in the areas of math, science, and reading. The results showed that the ranking of the United States fell from where it was three years ago.
But looking only at that is a mistake, because the details within the numbers are what is important. For example, seeing only the ranking would lead you to assume the issue is that student scores in the US dropped. The reality, however, is that scores mostly stayed the same, while other nations moved up.
This is... mixed news. It's mostly bad news because it means that despite all the time, money, and effort expended on trying to boost results, we haven't actually achieved those ends. That means we are doing something wrong. But you have to stop falling before you can start climbing. The fact that scores haven't gotten worse means that no damage has been done, or at least none that can't be reversed.
However, there are many already who have looked at these results from this one imperfect measurement, and have come to the conclusion that American students are in a death spiral and that the government has done nothing but wasted money.
Only a small part of that is correct. We are not in a death spiral. We may not be the best in the world, but we aren't nearly the worst either. The fact that our students aren't scoring higher is troubling, but it's not so severe that we should act like there is a guillotine hanging over our heads by a single thread.
What we need to do is focus on the causes of these results. I did a series earlier this year stating my view of what was wrong with the education system as it stands now. I will reiterate my belief that the issues are greater than just the idea that teachers aren't teaching well enough, or that students aren't staying in classrooms long enough.
We are too one dimensional in our thinking on this issue. We've equated classroom time to being the cure to all the issues in the educational system. But, like giving someone aspirin for the pneumonia, we're prescribing a treatment that doesn't actually work. It's about quality, not quantity.
Furthermore, the degree to which students can focus when they get to school is also important. If they don't have a good home situation, or don't get enough to eat let alone proper nutrition, or if they are too stressed or have too many points of focus, then there is little that will be achieved in the classroom.
We as a nation have done little to alleviate any of these issues. From before they're old enough to crawl, kids are pushed and pushed nowadays with the idea that making money, making as much money as possible, is all that matters. Even while mentioning these issues, little effort is put towards solving them. We won't be seeing our world ranking rise much if any in the near future unless those things change. All things considered, we aren't doing too bad right now.
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