Well, Here's Something That Will Never Fly

[dr_pretentious]

Check out this astonishing article in the New York Times. Apparently our nation's illustrious Secretary of Education knows just what American higher education needs: federally mandated standardized testing for undergraduate degrees. Because, you know, No Child Left Behind has been such a rousing success in our nation's primary and secondary schools.

This quotation is especially mind-blowing:
“Too many Americans just aren’t getting the education that they need,” the report said. “There are disturbing signs that many students who do earn degrees have not actually mastered the reading, writing and thinking skills we expect of college graduates.”

And increasing the emphasis on standardized testing is so conducive to developing sophisticated writing and critical thinking skills, right? Nothing like filling in dots with a number two pencil to reveal a capacity for independent thought. And turning colleges into cram schools is sure to prepare our college graduates to compete in a global labor market.

Thank you, Secretary Spellings. Why didn't I think of that?

Comments

[reynaud.livejournal.com]

You know, I can give you a concrete example of how doing well in standardized tests has nothing to do with actual knowledge learned. As a senior in HS, I took and passed the Math/Calculus AP test, DESPITE getting straight C's in the course. Also, I did quite well on my SATs ... and flunked out of college my first time. When will these bozos learn that doing well on standardized tests means that you do well on standardized tests, and may or may not have any bearing on with what you truly know?

I even remember a couple of years ago how many colleges were thinking of dropping that SAT as a requirement because it meant so little in reality.