Is Education in the U.S. Suffering?

Tee hee! Blaze won but you still get points.

In a normal distribution, the mean, mode, and average are all approximately the same, which means, by definition, that half the population will always score below average (and half above) on an I.Q. test, provided it is a large randomly sampled population.

I am so tricksy!

~Ulrika~

Me and Eggy posted before them go back to page 1

and there's no reason to expect a normal distribution

I believe Education in the U.S. is suffering, and some things I've observed in my local school district are unsettling, at best. One example: I found it disturbing when a teacher assured a parent (a personal friend of mine) that her daughter's inability to spell wasn't a serious problem because "That's what spell-check is for." I could cite more examples, but I don't want to write a book.

Equally disturbing is the impression that school administrators are far less concerned about students than they are about acquring more funding and how they compare to other districts on statistical charts.

Educators blame parents, parents blame educators, politicians blame whoever/whatever seems safe to blame at any given moment... and everyone blames lack of funding.

I realize there is no simple solution for the complex problems facing school districts today, but I don't think inadequate funding is the real culprit. I have my own theories... but to keep it short I'll just say that it is natural for children to want to learn, and when they lose that desire, at whatever age, it's a good indication that we, as a society, are doing something wrong.

There is actually! Standardized intelligence tests are created to yield normal distributions.



~Ulrika~

OK. Points for you and Eggy too!

~Ulrika~

hmm

Dont worry soon the rest of the states will do like the People's Republic Of Washington did.

Kids ranked to low, No problem, We will lower the curve and score.

See now our kids are on par with the rest of the country.

hmm

Points revoked.

~Ulrika~

Alright, fine. as long as it was a true IQ test.

Yay! Double points for Zuzu! Zuzu wins.

~Ulrika~

Very Clever! Of course half of all ppl score below average on IQ tests....thats what AVERAGE means! The same would apply to anywhere in the world. Now when you have an IQ 3 standard deviations above the norm of 100, its does get a bit aggravating. Nothing that 10-12 beers won't help! =D

It was my understanding that IQ and education weren't necessarily related. People can have a high IQ without a formal education. On the other hand, the state of American public education has been in a nose dive since the 60s. Time to privatize.

-Kiamat Dusk

Education may be a saving grace in general, but IQ scores grant no immunity with regard to foolishness.

In fact, in the most extreme cases of foolishness a high IQ score might be regarded as a prerequisite.



Edit: though a high IQ score would certainly assist in dealing with this unruly forum signature...

ok, brainchild here... yeah it's suffering all right, the roof is being brought down on the gifted kids and we now have to rot in remedial classes... thanks a hell of alot you reatards.

Tell me about it.

~Ulrika~

This is false in two ways. First, there is always a genetic and environmental component to human characteristics. Second, irrespective of innate ability in regards to education the effect on the individual is profound.

However, don't let facts get in the way of your ideological agenda. You mustn't rest until breathing is privatized.

~Ulrika~

The "brainchild" spelled it as "alot".

~Ulrika~

Hmm low IQ scores huh? I guess this explains why i feel like i'm the only one i live with, who shows any signs of intelligence. of course nobody ever administered any tests to me. so i feel left out, and blessed.

I think George W. Bush summed it up best when he asked the question, "Is our children learning?"

But not as tricksy as I assumed when I read your posting. I thought the assumption that education equals intelligence was another hook to trap the unwary, but it appears not.

You only have to look at these forums to realise some of the most obviously intelligent people are also the most ignorant, uneducated blinkered morons alive.

Thank the christian god I am dumb as a stick. Less pressure.

And I don't have to worry about not being able to spell.

Don't know if this has been mentioned before - one thing that would help to shed light on the sorry state of US education is to START comparing our stats with other countries of the world.

Currently, 90% of US edu. statistics are comparied amount the 50 states, with no mention of international rankings.

I am vote for option #3, Elanor Roseveldt.

Did I pass?

<looks at the first question carefully not understanding what it means:

NAME: Err....what's my name again? CRAP!!

Ahh! Pypo Chung! ERR! thats not your real name -700 pts

awws...Why is the SAT's so comfusculating!??!

hehe ^_^ i did this one year as a joke and i lost points for my SAT's, best part is i scored a 120 2nd time doing this <plus fell asleep math part> long ago....man if i was forced to take that stupid test over again i'd purposly fail it!