Re: The Education Function

Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Mon, 07 Dec 1998 08:34:56 -0500

The Baileys wrote:

> Michael Lorrey wrote:
>
> >Here's a question: If our education system is so poor, why do we have the
> >highest rate of technological advancement,
>
> The United States commands the largest portion of the global capital
> markets. This, not the quality of the U.S. education function, is the
> primary factor relating to the technological prowess of the United States.
> A more cogent analysis would look at some technology index as it relates to
> population or even capital utilization efficiency.
>
> > the largest ubiquity of technology
> >among all classes, etc..
>
> Once again, the largest share of global capital is the primary factor here,
> not superior education.
>
> >Perhaps the test needs to be examined. Considering how
> >poorly most people think IQ and SAT tests are at measuring success and
> >acheivement, I wonder why these same people put so much credence in a test
> which
> >nobody knows anything about, that I have never seen or taken, etc? Show me
> the
> >money.
>
> If you visit a few public schools (perhaps you have, I don't know) you might
> understand more what the situation of public schooling is.

Yes, I graduated from a public high school in '86. I had the highest SAT score in my high school class, that year my state had the highest average SAT scores in the nation (while having one of the highest levels of participation as well). GET THIS: That same year our state ranked at the bottom of all states in per capita spending on education.

Since then spending has gone up, and average SAT scores have gone down...

Mike Lorrey