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I've heard this argument against compulsory education & standardized testing many times, and I'm still not convinced. Look at the countries ranked highest in e

I've heard this argument against compulsory education & standardized testing many times, and I'm still not convinced. Look at the countries ranked highest in education, according to the 2012 Pearson study that is often cited by news networks. [0] The top 30 nations have widely different attitudes toward compulsory education & testing. Some embrace it much more strongly the United States. Others deemphasize it. For example, juxtapose Finland and Korea. Before we can categorically dismiss compulsory education & standardized testing, we have to acknowledge that it sometimes produces amazing outcomes — some of the world's best. Some may argue that the rankings focus on standardized testing, which is an inadequate measure of what students know and what they can do. But Pearson's study and similar studies didn't just measure tests; they considered a "wide range of social and economic indicators." In other words, compulsory schooling & testing isn't always the devil, and I don't think there's any magic bullet for improving the U.S. education system. Analyzing the United States' approach to education alongside the approaches of other nations in the world rankings, it's clear that there are other factors at play, which may account for U.S. students' poor performance.

danielweber 13y ago
What compulsory education does is put kids who don't want to be in school with kids who do want to be there. And the former don't just sit there quietly. They take it out on the latter. High school was awesome the past two years, once all the kids who wanted to drop out did so.
- Wingman4l7 13y ago
  The saddest part is that some of the former might be perfectly happy apprenticing for a trade instead -- a chance which has really been destroyed in the last few decades in some areas. The real issue is that we're trying to forcibly prevent delinquent members of society, just like you force small children to eat their vegetables and go to bed -- because as an adult you have the foresight and ability to delay gratification that they lack -- but it doesn't always work. Where do you draw the line? When do you give up on kids and say "fine, screw it, don't go to school, go eat candy and smoke pot behind the 7-11"? There are the kids who, if you force them to go to school at 14 when they don't feel like it, will grow up and realize that playing videogames for 12 hours a day would have been a bad life decision. Then there are the other 14-year-olds who will fight it until they can drop out and become a chronic plague on the rest of society, no matter what sort or form of education you offered them. The problem is that no one wants to admit the politically incorrect truth that there will always be some children left behind.
gz5 13y ago
The system works quite well for some. But isn't it also true that some of the folks succeed despite the current system? To me, the problem is that the desired outcome is no longer to build the factory worker, yet the foundation of education is still (largely) built to that dated objective. Note: that in no way discredits the wonderful schools and teachers that we do have that do their best to truly educate students within those old world confines.

danielweber 13y ago

What compulsory education does is put kids who don't want to be in school with kids who do want to be there. And the former don't just sit there quietly. They take it out on the latter. High school was awesome the past two years, once all the kids who wanted to drop out did so.

Wingman4l7 13y ago
The saddest part is that some of the former might be perfectly happy apprenticing for a trade instead -- a chance which has really been destroyed in the last few decades in some areas. The real issue is that we're trying to forcibly prevent delinquent members of society, just like you force small children to eat their vegetables and go to bed -- because as an adult you have the foresight and ability to delay gratification that they lack -- but it doesn't always work. Where do you draw the line? When do you give up on kids and say "fine, screw it, don't go to school, go eat candy and smoke pot behind the 7-11"? There are the kids who, if you force them to go to school at 14 when they don't feel like it, will grow up and realize that playing videogames for 12 hours a day would have been a bad life decision. Then there are the other 14-year-olds who will fight it until they can drop out and become a chronic plague on the rest of society, no matter what sort or form of education you offered them. The problem is that no one wants to admit the politically incorrect truth that there will always be some children left behind.

gz5 13y ago

The system works quite well for some. But isn't it also true that some of the folks succeed despite the current system? To me, the problem is that the desired outcome is no longer to build the factory worker, yet the foundation of education is still (largely) built to that dated objective. Note: that in no way discredits the wonderful schools and teachers that we do have that do their best to truly educate students within those old world confines.