http://www.daily-journal.com/opinion/editorials/take-the-test-it-s-the-only-way-to-compete/article_0295fa2e-9867-5a72-95ee-2ffac8ae95a4.html
Every now and then, someone scores a critical success with a lecture or
book such as "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
It's clever. It appeals to those who hold that interpersonal understanding
is the key to a happy life. Maybe so.
But if you are an engineer, a doctor or a chemist, well, you had to learn
a whole lot after kindergarten. The rest of us are appreciative of that
learning, too. If you are driving over a bridge or flying in a plane, you
want one designed by the "A" engineer, not the guy who didn't understand
the metric system. If you are in heart surgery, you want the "A" surgeon.
You probably would want your investments handled by a person great at math
and analysis, rather than one with just a great smile.
The federal government, under Barack Obama as it has under George W. Bush,
is sticking to a series of standardized tests designed to force
improvements in education. Such tests, though, still stir resistance from
students and parents. Across the nation, 640,000 students refused to take
the tests. Illinois was singled out as one of the offenders.
We think there are a lot to be said for tests. First of all, even if you
don't do well a test often points out where you need to improve.
Secondly, a test is objective. You don't get marked down because your name
ends in a vowel or you live on the wrong side of the tracks. It is true,
certainly, that a test is a form of stress. Not everyone does well with
stress. But the ability to make the right decision, under stress, is
critical in all sorts of professions. It makes a difference in medicine,
in law enforcement, in military service.
That brings us to two concluding arguments.
Does American education need to improve?
In 2012, there was a worldwide Programme for International Student
Assessment. Fifteen-year-olds around the world took a test designed to
measure what students knew. The test was heavily weighted in math.
Students in Shanghai, China, scored a mean of 613. The United States had a
mean of 481. We fell behind not only China, Japan and Korea, but also some
places you would not have expected. Students in Vietnam, Portugal, Ireland
and Poland were better than those in the United States.
Here's a dagger. Test scores seem to be tied to economic growth rates.
Those countries doing the best in math seem to be improving the most in
economics.
Does that mean you need high level math skills and the ability to work
under pressure in every job? No.
But the world is competing and you are not going to win by failing to show
up at the starting line. Take the test. Discover what you don't know. Than
learn it.
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