Image via WikipediaIt finally happened. The Washington Post describes what happens when an adult takes a 10th grade standardized test. The December 5th article relays the experience with predictable results: 17% math & 62% reading. The best part of this story is that the gentleman is a member of the school board.I proposed an experiment such as this in a previous post about Guam's SAT criticisms. Perhaps when more adults commit acts of bravery such as this, the greater public will see the folly of standardized testing. It became clear to the school board member...
“It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.
I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities."
... and yet he failed the SAT.
So what should we do? Should we require more tests? How about SAT testing every 2 years until you reach the retirement age - would that cover it? Perhaps we should find his teachers and do a thorough re-evaluation of their abilities. Maybe the schools he attended should be penalized somehow; withdraw some federal funding from them or impose some other financial penalty. I know, how about we create a special program that would accommodate persons with double masters degrees and manage large corporations? Maybe we should just label him as a failure or constantly rank him against other adults.
How about this. Why don't we take a hard look at our educational system. Let's build a new one that is relevant for today.
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