3 ms·

But not all households have internet access and not all kids are being told they can use this resource. I think we're moving in the right direction, but rich st

But not all households have internet access and not all kids are being told they can use this resource. I think we're moving in the right direction, but rich students are still going to have an advantage on these types of tests

tjr 11y ago
What would you recommend? What do you think an ideal solution would look like?
- rtkwe 11y ago
  Cheap and easier access to free online prep courses would help. Also there's a lot that can be done by bringing kids into a community and giving them a group to belong to that encourages education. Freakonomics did a pretty good podcast about a project in Toronto that cut the dropout rate by ~15 percentage points. [0] The whole thing is worth a read but the basics are they provided support advocates, transportation, a scholarship if they kept with the program, tutoring, and group activities. Really though there's probably always going to be some level of education outcome gap between rich and poor kids, having an easier and more stable home life is a substantial leg up. [0] http://freakonomics.com/podcast/fix-broken-high-schooler-four-easy-steps-freakonomics-radio-rebroadcast/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/fix-broken-high-schooler-fou...
- ccvannorman 11y ago
  Do away with testing [for the purposes of going to Uni] entirely. While you're at it, don't go to Uni either. The real world doesn't have tests, it has continuous collaboration to solve problems. This may sound trite but it was my experience and reflects many real-world data points of my friends. Tests and University were a colossal waste of time, and we would mostly be in better positions today [financially, career] if we had done almost anything else with our youth.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    I imagine many folks who go to University, wasted their time and public money. There are some whom I would not want to skip that trial however. Medicine, Engineering, Science cannot simply be done by any set of folks in a study group. At some point, somebody in the group has to know what they're talking about.

tjr 11y ago

What would you recommend? What do you think an ideal solution would look like?

rtkwe 11y ago
Cheap and easier access to free online prep courses would help. Also there's a lot that can be done by bringing kids into a community and giving them a group to belong to that encourages education. Freakonomics did a pretty good podcast about a project in Toronto that cut the dropout rate by ~15 percentage points. [0] The whole thing is worth a read but the basics are they provided support advocates, transportation, a scholarship if they kept with the program, tutoring, and group activities. Really though there's probably always going to be some level of education outcome gap between rich and poor kids, having an easier and more stable home life is a substantial leg up. [0] http://freakonomics.com/podcast/fix-broken-high-schooler-four-easy-steps-freakonomics-radio-rebroadcast/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/fix-broken-high-schooler-fou...
ccvannorman 11y ago
Do away with testing [for the purposes of going to Uni] entirely. While you're at it, don't go to Uni either. The real world doesn't have tests, it has continuous collaboration to solve problems. This may sound trite but it was my experience and reflects many real-world data points of my friends. Tests and University were a colossal waste of time, and we would mostly be in better positions today [financially, career] if we had done almost anything else with our youth.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  I imagine many folks who go to University, wasted their time and public money. There are some whom I would not want to skip that trial however. Medicine, Engineering, Science cannot simply be done by any set of folks in a study group. At some point, somebody in the group has to know what they're talking about.