I stopped reading at "IQ rose 30 points in the 20th century around the world.."
That is well studied. A large meta-analysis claims 2.93 points per decade, over most of the 20th century. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152423/
An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
11–20 of 198 posts
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#12The ancient Western word for this is virtue : to cultivate virtues as part of an education. It's not a novel concept, but it rather got shot in the head in the postmodern revolution in education, and we're a lesser society for it.
I'm not familiar with the idea that there was a 'postmodern revolution' in education (or even what that would look like?) What changes are you referring to?
Education as job training rather than education for intrinsic value.
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#13Probably a step up from people who are simply fools?
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not familiar with the idea that there was a 'postmodern revolution' in education (or even what that would look like?) What changes are you referring to?
Education as job training rather than education for intrinsic value.
Makes sense considering the U.S. is a society where you have no value unless you work. The presiding political party doesn't think you should have food and housing unless you have a job.
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#15My spouse is a classroom educator.
Her school participates in Great Expectations program. http://www.greatexpectations.org/
It is a character development program "that provides teachers and administrators with the skills needed to create harmony and excitement within the school atmosphere"
There are 8 Expectations at the elementary level 1. We will value one another as unique special individuals 2. We will not laugh at or make fun of a person's mistakes nor use sarcasm or putdowns. 3. We will use good manners, saying, "please," "thank you" and "excuse me" and allow others to go first. and so forth. http://www.greatexpectations.org/expectations
In my opinion when the U.S. abandoned the judeo/christian ethic in the late twentieth century character and wisdom training was denigrated as "old fashioned" and unnecessary.
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#16Look at the hundreds of billions of dollars the DOE has spent since its inception under President Carter and ask, why have scores and graduations rates not show real improvement? Why are we still asking the same questions we did back then?
If there were one Federal agency in dire need of dissolution it is that one. Give the money to states in grants and see which one comes up with the better solution
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#17The article mixes two ideas that partially contradict each other.
1. Tests like the SAT, ACT, the GRE [...] You end up with people who are good at taking tests and fiddling with phones and computers, and those are good skills but they are not tantamount to the skills we need to make the world a better place.
2. Do we know how to cultivate wisdom? Yes we do.
I agree with the second statement, and its implications are huge. If we give people good education and good role models, that people are going to be wiser.
I don't agree with the first statement. There is still a lot of prejudices against software developers and other high skilled professionals that are part of America's culture. It correlates high IQ with low creativity. Can't high IQ people learn wisdom? Is not part of the second thesis that it can be taught?
The best example I have against the first thesis is how developers behave at the companies that I have worked for. These are Swedish companies that value collaboration, personal live balance, and other social skills. People at this companies are social, technically brilliant, they participate in team building activities, we go for beers together, there is more gender parity (but still is very low), etc.
If a company values and rewards this values day to day, people are social animals and behave as such. If a company asks developers to work weekends and has no vacation time. Are you surprise to find only angry, non creative, non social people?
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#18As a high school student I find the hating on the SAT/ACT a little concerning, since once you remove standardized testing, admissions is primarily based on GPA(which imo has massive flaws the most important flaw being lack of consistency across schools). Also this article doesn't sound all that "scientific" to me.
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#19> If you look at the problems we have in the world today—climate change, income disparities in this country that probably rival or exceed those of the gilded age, pollution, violence, a political situation that many of us never could have imaged—one wonders, what about all those IQ points? Why aren’t they helping?
We're making huge strides in alternative energy sources, both natural gas and renewable energy. Violent crime is down in the developed world. Income inequality is a red haring. Trump's election is not "a problem." So yeah, more left wing trolling here.
Re: An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not familiar with the idea that there was a 'postmodern revolution' in education (or even what that would look like?) What changes are you referring to?
Education as job training rather than education for intrinsic value.
Historically speaking, I suspect there's a correlation between "virtue-focused" schooling and bodies of predominantly-upper-class students who are already nearly guaranteed to get an entry-level job in a prestigious field. The study is designed to help them compete inside a more-rarefied social circle.
Meanwhile, other students were in apprenticeships or going somewhere that focused on the on the three R's of readin', ritin', and 'rithmatic.
If the amount of virtue-schooling is decreasing per-capita over time, that may just be regression to a centuries-long mean.