Copy and paste from an earlier Fark discussion. It was after an article about grading based on results instead of attendance or attitude.
Before any other question is answered, we have to address the core concept:
Is public school an institute of learning and education, or is it a preparation ground for social integration and job function?
No matter how much we would like it to be, public schools as currently implemented cant be both. The American public school system was a major departure from all previous views of schools. It was an attempt to bring all citizens up to a basic level of reason and understanding and it was thought that that alone would improve the society and nation of America. And they were right, for a while.
Before America kids were taught the skills necessary to survive, and were trained in whatever field they would be employed in. For those who would serve in leadership or educated roles (such as Priest, Engineer, etc) there was a different path; that of private tutelage leading to University study. Those attending Universities were not trained in one field, they were completely EDUCATED; multiple languages, history, art, science, math, literature, philosophy, etc. The idea behind this at the time was that the upper classes were inherently better than others and were the only ones genetically able to truly become enlightened, as it was referred to.
So along comes America and says, No. All people are capable and deserving of basic literacy and understanding of the world around them. And for those that are capable and choose to go further, the University will still exist for that level of training. Until the industrial revolution, that is. Now we were back to a class based system, where those in charge preferred to have less educated, but dedicated workers under them. They backed a new form of education, the College. A college was a school of one particular skill or type of learning, such as a College of Engineering. By focusing students on one specific type of learning to excel in, they could be utilized for their abilities without providing them the broad education that would result in them knowing enough to rebel against their employers. You have to remember that at this time school was not mandatory, generally didnt progress beyond 6th grade, and was only in session for about 1/2 of the year (we were still mainly an agro-economy and had no functional service industry to see to our daily needs).
That is the foundation of our education system, it is NOT as was originally envisioned. It was SUPPOSED to be public learning and broad education, instead it became a tool of class division and economic resource. In education, as in most facets of life, we surrendered democracy to capitalism. What Im saying is, Our current system is a mongrel hybrid of two entirely different school systems and should be abolished and recreated as on or the other, or allow the creation of both types.
I believe strongly in providing the option for both and letting each individual choose their path. For me personally, I would go the academic route, because its what Im best at, and because I believe broad education in art, philosophy, etc are what provide the correct advancement of a society, they give it direction and limits and reasons. Meanwhile those who feel the other way are free to attend social/career learning centers and become the actual movers and doers of our nation, providing the means to reach the academic ends.
People are talking about effort and attendance and other factors, which have nothing to do with education, they have to do with social acclimation and career possibilities. By splitting schools into two categories we would be able to focus on the parts that matter to each school. Career schools would want to see effort, dedication, self-discipline, attendance and other job related functions, while an academic institution could be based solely on learning, creativity, exhaustive testing, etc.
To that end, there are some fundamental flaws with the implementation of either a results based or subjective relativity grading scale.
Some people dont do well on tests, but can perform the specific operation of the functions tested without trouble. Test anxiety, learning disabilities, so called bad daysthese are all possible factors in reducing a bright persons test scores. Furthermore what type of test plays a significant role, as some children learn visually, others audibly, others through example and experience, etc. Provided that all learning options are utilized in the coursework, how the test is structured and presented would still be a key factor in determining the outcome of the test.
This also brings up a point about the use of luck in testing. Multiple choice tests are great for quizzing and instruction, but they fail utterly to perform the functions of a true test, which is seeing what the student has learned. Fill in the blank, oral review, essay question and project oriented tests are far more useful once classroom learning of a subject is completed.
This severe individualization is the largest single factor opposing public education today. Just understanding the different styles of learning presented by introverts versus extraverts is a major stride in truly acceptable global education. I believe the only possible way to achieve this is through exhaustive training of all educators in psychology, education, personality type theory, etc. Then perform complete analysis of all students, with ongoing update testing, in order to establish a core understanding of that childs learning style and capabilities, and then teach him/her accordingly.
This raises another issue; that of ability/intelligence. There is no doubt that addressing these factors is vital in education, and yet they remained largely unaddressed in our current system. A child with an exceptional broad IQ (say above 150 standard) will learn differently than the other 9 in his class with a 90-120 IQ. Even more importantly, by reviewing the theories of multiple intelligences one who is entirely geared towards spatial relations and art can not be expected to achieve the same scores in math and chemistry. And intelligence itself has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH GRADES. A student who gets As isnt necessarily smart by todays system, while one who flunks may actually be a genius or above. Separating these two factors, intellect and grades/achievement, is essential before real progress can be made in education.
Another major factor in education is drive. Rather it's provided by self-discipline or through pressure by external forces (ie family) a student is only going to achieve to the level he/she chooses, regardless of the opportunities presented to them. Therefore its vital to establish an open and working system, and then to understand and accept someone who doesnt necessarily progress very far within it, regardless of ability.
To achieve this system would take a lot of work, and would probably require federal oversight. However, upon achievement of the working system the ED should be mostly dismantled at the federal level, leaving no more than a voluntary board of advisors drawn not from politicians but from educators. Let the states develop their own independent EDs that stay within the framework that was laid down, after all, this is supposed to be a republic. Costs have to be cut, and that means administration. Cuts should always happen at the top first, not the bottom.
Ive refrained from covering anything too deeply here, its a public board not my thesis (which will soon be available on my website btw). There is ample documentation and support to back what I say, all you have to do is research it and think, which I know isnt necessarily easy given our education system for the last 50 years.
Even so, I have a lot of experience in this area. Youre talking to someone who went to high school for five years, had a .012 cumulative GPA, and scored 1410 on the SATs at 16 having never even taken a course in geometry or more than basic algebra. With that in mind, Ive also belonged to a couple intellectual societies (ie Mensa-ish) and attended 4 universities in the US. Anyone who thinks we have a workable system need only read this last paragraph to realize something somewhere is terribly wrong.
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