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Under a democratic (or let's say, public-opinion-based) system, who is rewarded for trying to uphold some kind of standards, when it doesn't benefit the majorit

Under a democratic (or let's say, public-opinion-based) system, who is rewarded for trying to uphold some kind of standards, when it doesn't benefit the majority to do so? I'm just commenting aside from the pandemic-related issues here, on the long progression of anti-testing, anti-standards pressure in the US. The majority of people aren't happy with having standardized tests because they block kids from feeling they have a shot at the top schools. But of course that's their function -- to sort. So, public pressure calls for dropping objective measurements so that people feel better about it... but they aren't doing better. And muddying the waters to say that everyone should have an equal shot at going to a top school -- for reasons other than academics and using the resource efficiently. And the kids just stagnate in performance and everyone feels good about it, until you get kicked in the ass by reality and you find other countries who don't care so much about making people feel better are actually passing you by.

criddell 4y ago
> to sort But into what categories are they sorting? What if they are mostly measuring who is good at taking a test? At my kids high school, they were in a program where they got to write a whole bunch of practice tests. From test-to-test, they did better and better. Some of the tests were close enough in time that their knowledge didn’t significantly change, but their scores improved. I attribute that to learning answers to questions that pop up frequently and to being less anxious after writing the nth practice exam. Both of my kids did great at the tests eventually.
- Spooky23 4y ago
  If it’s a writing exam, there’s a skill to writing text in a way that will generate the best grade. I recall with AP History back in the 90s, DBQ questions required some training to the form before sitting for the exam.
p0pcult 4y ago
>But of course that's their function -- to sort. Or, their function is to evaluate macro trends in education.

criddell 4y ago

> to sort But into what categories are they sorting? What if they are mostly measuring who is good at taking a test? At my kids high school, they were in a program where they got to write a whole bunch of practice tests. From test-to-test, they did better and better. Some of the tests were close enough in time that their knowledge didn’t significantly change, but their scores improved. I attribute that to learning answers to questions that pop up frequently and to being less anxious after writing the nth practice exam. Both of my kids did great at the tests eventually.

Spooky23 4y ago
If it’s a writing exam, there’s a skill to writing text in a way that will generate the best grade. I recall with AP History back in the 90s, DBQ questions required some training to the form before sitting for the exam.

p0pcult 4y ago

>But of course that's their function -- to sort. Or, their function is to evaluate macro trends in education.