At 10:05 PM 4/22/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Without having proof to the contrary, Occam's Razor would suggest that the
>explanation
>to higher overall scores on standardized tests would simply be "a better
>overall
>quality of education today". After all, if students are learning more and
>thus scoring higher on standardized tests, well, what more does that mean than
>that the standardized tests are doing what they are designed for (as
>demographic tools)
>and are representative of the increase in students' learning?
>
>Without proof, we cannot assume either way. So if you would like to
>make an argument about education quality in the US today, back it up with
>facts,
>otherwise it just sounds like "In my day" geezer-ranting.
The SATs have, in fact, been dumbed-down. Some relevant URLs:
http://www.edreform.com/news/sat_scramble.htm
http://www.heartland.org/education/dec00/recenter.htm
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=01sat.h16
Received on Mon Apr 22 2002 - 18:14:01 BST