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Re: California SAT-9 Testing.
Posted:
May 26, 2000 10:31 PM
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In article <9f9tis4hmco0rnbpgeb9b2p3g4fi0ub3oc@4ax.com>, Brian Harvey
<bh@anarres.cs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> "Bruce M. Ikenaga" <bikenaga@marauder.millersv.edu> writes:
>> It's not much fun to try to teach people who don't want
>>to learn. On the other hand, I'm glad that we *don't* give
>>up on kids too quickly. The point is not simply to raise
>>test scores, after all --- it is to do whatever works best
>>for the society as a whole.
>
> I was with you until the last line. Shouldn't that be
> "whatever works best for each individual kid"? Society has
> an interest, too, of course, but to my eye the central meaning
> of your post is that rigid tracking may work for society, on
> average, at the expense of particular kids who might have done
> better with more opportunity/encouragement.
I think we meant the same thing, even if I didn't say it
very well.
One problem is that we don't have the resources to do what
is best for everyone. We compromise. You could maximize the
sum by maximizing the individual outcomes *if* maximizing the
individual outcomes could be done independently, but I don't
think that's the case.
Also, while the sum is a *rational* measure of what is best,
there are other possibilities.
I've seen people criticize non-tracked systems (where kids
of different abilities are taught together) on the grounds that
the brighter kids suffer. The suggestion is that if a kid can't
handle algebra (for example), then maybe he/she belongs in a
"vocational" track. In this sense, you could artificially
raise test scores in algebra classes by simply removing the low
performers. My point was that this isn't *necessarily* what is
best for society.
I agree with your concerns about giving up on people too
soon. It's better to try to get everyone to the point where
they can decide what they want to do --- as opposed to making
the decision for them, (too) early in their lives.
-----
Bruce Ikenaga bikenaga@marauder.millersv.edu
Dept. of Math, P.O. Box 1002, :::::::::::::::::::
Millersville University,
Millersville, PA 17551-0302
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