zlacker

>>lxm+(OP)
I’m sure every generation feels like the next is going to turn the world to hell… but what the hell? I find it absolutely bonkers that gifted classes, math, homework and objective performance assessments are suddenly under fire as instruments perpetuating inequality. Does our education system leave much to be desired? Absolutely! Let’s pay teachers more and improve access to quality education for all students, not cognitively handicap the next generation.

>>throwa+2o
The crazy thing is that the bar is so low in the US.

Where I live, Hoboken, NJ, the high school math and reading proficiency rate are 8% and 44% respectively, while the graduation rate is >95%

What the hell are they doing if they're not even teaching kids math and reading? And why are they graduating them?

Grades aren't meant to be a feel good merit badge. They're supposed to be an accurate reflection of your level of knowledge relative to your peers. If it ceases to be that, then the selection just happens elsewhere. So now high school diploma isn't worth anything because everyone graduates. Hiring a high school graduate doesn't even guarantee you the person can read. Same thing happens in bachelors as schools become less selective and inflate grades.

>>bko+As
School seems to fulfill at least three different purposes:

A. Give kids some education (or educayshun, depending on the quality of the school).

B. Act as a sort of daycare, so that both parents can go to work and keep the wheels of the economy turning (or the computer mice clicking, nowadays).

C. Job security for the staff.

B+C can be easily done without accomplishing much of A, and the only thing than can guarantee at least some A is pressure from the parents. But in some places, concerned parents with enough time and energy to do that are so few that they cannot move the colossus. Moving away or finding private school for their kids is simpler.