22 Apr
2002
22 Apr
'02
6:14 p.m.
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