tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post4240827633735443675..comments2023-11-13T04:55:40.769-05:00Comments on Tuttle SVC: Nobody Knows What's Best for their Own ChildrenTom Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-19843880714646791352010-11-11T12:40:43.369-05:002010-11-11T12:40:43.369-05:00Well, Google says that Bracey said:
"First, ...Well, Google says that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-bracey/international-comparisons_b_149690.html" rel="nofollow">Bracey said</a>:<br /><br />"First, comparing nations on average scores is a pretty silly idea. It's like ranking runners based on average shoe size or evaluating the high school football team on the basis of how fast the average senior can run the 40-yard dash. Not much link to reality. What is likely much more important is how many high performers you have. On both TIMSS math and science, the U. S. has a much higher proportion of "advanced" scorers than the international median although the proportion is much smaller than in Asian nations.<br /><br />This was not true on PISA, another international comparison that tests 15-year-olds. Only 1.5% of American students scored at the highest level compared to top performing New Zealand at 4% and second place Finland at 3.9%. Yet the proportion of Americans at the highest level meant that 70,000 kids scored there compared to about 2,000 for New Zealand and Sweden. No one else even came close--Japan was second with about 33,000 top performers. These are the people who might end up creating leading edge technology in the future. Who cares if Singapore, with about the same population as the Washington Metro Area, and Hong Kong, with about twice that number, score high? There aren't many people there. (And, as journalist Fareed Zakariya found out, the Singapore kids fade as they become adults. More about that in a moment). The bad news is that the U. S., on PISA anyway, had many more students scoring at the lowest levels; these kids likely can't compete for the good jobs in the country."<br /><br />Actually the only <i>really</i> dishonest thing about this analysis is acting like it is some kind of novel analysis. It's all pretty self-evident stuff.Tom Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-62575600031801281782010-11-11T00:56:16.327-05:002010-11-11T00:56:16.327-05:00Hey Tom, isn't that the same PISA data that Ge...Hey Tom, isn't that the same PISA data that Gerald Bracey sliced and diced and found that high end American kids did have composite scores comparable to those in high scoring Scandinavian countries? Perhaps not apples and apples, but I am always suspicious about Hanushek, especially since he seems to have lost all reason on the merits of VAM.<br /><br />Alice Mercer<br />http://mizmercer.edublogs.orgLeroy's Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13839945290918777434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-84517737327966227602010-11-10T20:53:01.645-05:002010-11-10T20:53:01.645-05:00I wanted to say educators, but nothing in our soci...I wanted to say educators, but nothing in our society suggests that at the moment.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04725549451973770515noreply@blogger.com