“Childhood and Education #21: Grades and Standards” by Zvi - LessWrong posts by zvi | Lyssna här

First you get to college via the wrong metrics, as previously discussed in #12. Then things get easier.

I’m still digging out from under everything that happened the four days I was gone. Normal AI posting should resume tomorrow, likely with a report from the conference.

Is Our Children Learning

The declines in NAEP scores and other tests seem to be concentrated on the weakest students. The bottom of the distribution is falling through the floor and the rest is mostly holding up. This does not match anecdotal reports coming out of schools, which suggest widespread declines, although those are presumably untrustworthy and it's traditional to think children are in general getting dumber. That doesn’t mean they aren’t but we need systematic evidence.

It's Bad, But It's Not That Bad

This really would be far worse than I think if it was true.

Tyler Cowen: It is worse than you think:

Of 360,000 children aged 15 in Zambia only five (not 5%, 5 total) could read at “globally proficient levels.”

The source is PISA.

I mean, in addition to this meaning essentially college-level reading skills, it's very obviously not true. [...]

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Outline:

(00:30) Is Our Children Learning

(00:59) It's Bad, But It's Not That Bad

(02:10) Standardized Tests Help Disadvantaged Students

(04:26) Do Not Saturate Your Benchmarks