Comments on: Your A student is average

By: Phileas Frogg

Phileas Frogg — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:53:05 +0000

Well, I am a member of that self-serving order of sophists whose benefit is employment, so I retain an intimate familiarity with the discrepancy between the nominal object and the practical reality of my work. That, and I’m too cynical to lie about it.

I do love history though and being paid to share it, even with those who could care less, is a great blessing.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 02:37:38 +0000

Phileas, your words cut like a knife.

By: Phileas Frogg

Phileas Frogg — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:48:54 +0000

Teachers are incentivized, by bureaucratic fiat, institutional pressure from administration and colleagues and parental social pressure, to construct their instruction and assessments such that any student who reaches proficiency should be between a B and an A.

This makes no sense when we consider that mandatory public education performance data should perfectly reflect the public; i.e. it should mirror a normal distribution. That is until we understand that universal education is actually a giant society sized kabuki theater designed to do three things, none of which it admits to:
1) Provide daycare (Parent benefit)
2) Socialize (Government benefit)
3) Ensure employment (Teacher benefit)

You will notice that students don’t really factor in here.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:11:40 +0000

The SAT and ACT are, in fact, the only truly useful part of the status quo school system. Let me dictate, and I will assort the students by sex, class, race, and SAT/ACT-like test performance, attrite the dumb, poach competent men from industry to supercharge the smart, and waste the lives of the youth no longer.