Americans have been complaining about the decline of our school system for years (decades, maybe?). Yet nothing seems to change. Not for the better at least.
There’s a big disconnect between what we want our kids to get out of school and what’s actually being provided, and I believe much of it is due to the way we measure scholastic success.
Most of us seem to think that some sort of learning should result from attending school. We expect children to understand concepts and how to apply them in real-world situations. But current testing procedures only assure that students memorize how to apply specific knowledge to a specific situation.
If we feed our children rote memorization and test-taking tactics, should we be surprised when they graduate high school without actually understanding anything? An “A” in algebra doesn’t necessarily mean they can apply it in real-world situations. You are what you eat.
We can’t expect true understanding of subject matter to occur unless we can determine better methods for measuring results.
