US High school students' scores fall in reading and math • Hacker News Board

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#851

Post by OhMeadhbh » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:49 PM UTC

everybodyknows wrote: post #840

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #823

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Texas is in the lowest decile in terms of high school graduation rates and the lower half of post-secondary educational attainment. It is not a paragon of educational achievement. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/educational...

Graduation rates can be raised to nearly whatever ratio is politically desirable, simply by easing requirements. https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-high-school-graduati...

Not disputed. But what's not disputed is they haven't done that. They are still in the lowest decile in terms of graduation rates.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#852

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:01 PM UTC

repeekad wrote: post #799

rayiner wrote: post #772

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Stereotyping white students as already fine and thus undeserving of any attention contributed this cultural mess in the first place, JD Vance wrote a book about white American struggles and now he’s VP. The school district might be primarily white, it’s more clearly likely poor and rural, and the electoral college values it more than dense educated rich cities.

[deleted]

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#853

Post by anthem2025 » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:02 PM UTC

hollerith wrote: post #833

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #826

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure the white dude from Middletown with a law degree from Yale is personally familiar with systemic social depredation.

JD Vance famously grew up in poverty and chaos caused by his mother's chronic drug addiction and his father's having abandoned him when he was a toddler.

Lies from a liar.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#854

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #826

repeekad wrote: post #799

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stereotyping white students as already fine and thus undeserving of any attention contributed this cultural mess in the first place, JD Vance wrote a book about white American struggles and now he’s VP. The school district might be primarily white, it’s more clearly likely poor and rural, and the electoral college values it more than dense educated rich cities.

I'm sure the white dude from Middletown with a law degree from Yale is personally familiar with systemic social depredation.

[deleted]

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#855

Post by paulddraper » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:06 PM UTC

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #364

paulddraper wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However,the United States, particularly in the last 50 years, seems to have fostered a culture averse to education. !! The rate of college graduates has increased nearby 50% over that timeframe. A rather unexpected result for a cultural aversion to education.

Do you believe the average degree awarded today requires as much rigor as the average degree awarded half a century ago?

No, and the article would -- if anything -- suggest the opposite.

My point is "culture averse to education" seems a strange assertion.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#856

Post by OhMeadhbh » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:06 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #829

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #818

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Libraries are about more than lending books (or media). Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library

Your patronizing comment is unhelpful. My high school library certainly didn't do anything but lend books and store some AV equipment, and provide a computer/study space, and I already referred to keeping the space for those other purposes. If we wanted information or recommendations on books to read, that was definitely what our English teachers were for. The library wasn't helping with that.

Okay. You don't have to read about libraries if you don't want to. But you'll likely sound a bit more informed if you do. Your comment makes it sound like the only thing you think ALL libraries do is lend out media. Maybe you just had a crap library.

Learning about a library's complete range of services is a decent idea and I encourage you to do so. If you don't want to read about it on the Wikipedia, I encourage you to engage your local librarian. Just ask them what they do. They will be delighted someone took an interest.

Here are a few examples... In the 70s, our high-school librarian was the go-to person to ask about where to find specific types of information. Before the internet, I think most people didn't know how to look up raw data in the reference stacks. My high school librarian showed me where to find state and federal data and departmental reports. I learned what "semiotics" was by asking my Jr. High School librarian about how the library was structured. When I worked for the government, we had a departmental library whose librarian was much more like a research assistant. The Seattle Public Library maintains 3-d printers they let the public use. I mean... I would not have guessed that was a thing the library would do. (Though I didn't see them the last time I was there, so maybe they're not doing that anymore.)

My previous comment wasn't intended to be patronizing, but I guess I can't control how you interpret comments from other people. Feel free to think I'm a jerk... but please ask your local librarian what services their library offers.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#857

Post by bdcravens » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:08 PM UTC

ToDougie wrote: post #819

After moving my kids out of a bad elementary school and into a fantastic district with a highly ranked school, the differences are obvious. The good school has smarter kids with better parents. The bad school had dull kids with bad parents. The kids at the new school do their homework, read, play outside. The kids at the old school skipped homework, played call of duty, and could hardly read. The new school has fun e…

In your discussion of "bad kids", it seems like there's a subtext you're not saying out loud.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#858

Post by austin-cheney » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:08 PM UTC

jmpman wrote: post #693

My son is taking a woodworking class in high school. First week, he came home and I asked him what he was doing in his woodworking class… “Disassembling the library bookcases”. “Why???” “Because they’re getting rid of the library”. Apparently the school board decided to save money by cutting the librarian, and then decided to just move the books out of the school library and into the “nearby” public library. In reali…

Sounds like a town named Southlake.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#859

Post by OhMeadhbh » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:09 PM UTC

breakyerself wrote: post #850

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #778

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ironic bit here is the local high school where I live in the Pacific North-West doesn't have a copy of Homo Ludens (either in print or as an e-book for lending) which is sort of the Sine Qua Non text on the philosophy of sport (which would explain why having a Football Team is important.)

I tend to think sports is good for kids. Not football though. My kids in high school marching band so I'm at the games. It's stupid how many kids get hurt on any given Saturday and some will go on to have CTE

Yeah. I was the only kid in Texas who was vaguely interested in athletics but completely uninterested in football. I mean... I was never insulted for playing baseball or soccer, but yeah, we need a better game than football as the go-to for Texas sports.

Re: US High school students' scores fall in reading and math

#860

Post by OhMeadhbh » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 5:12 PM UTC

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #789

fooqux wrote: post #783

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Looking forward to your down-votes. Instead of arguing, it's much easier to shout and jeer and press the downward facing arrow. I expect nothing less since we haven't taught critical thinking in most public schools for quite some time. I believe that's uncalled for. If you're looking for a discussion, that's not the way to go about starting it. You're just turning it hostile before it can even begin; what sort of r…

[flagged]

The joke here is that I say "HN readers down-vote things they don't like instead of making cogent arguments refuting the veracity of unpopular claims" and you go ahead and down-vote me. Never change, HN.