Did you know that 54% of American adults between the ages of 16-74 read below a 6th grade level?

@33person Sad

@Randi1125 I'd be interested in how various European countries achieve their higher reading levels. Something about the way we do school here, and something about our values, I think, actually stifles students' desire to read and think and be creative. And European schooling isn't exactly known for being brutal or hellish, but it's definitely known for better outcomes than over here.

@33person Why is it we always bow to the lowest standard rather than assist others to a higher standard?

@Graylight I think that's probably at the heart of the problem. We need to stop making it unnecessary for people to grow. As a college math teacher, I can tell you that in America, we literally account for the possibility that you made it into college not having mastered 7th-grade math skills. Instead, we should make people master these skills in 7th grade and absolutely insist they master the skills. If they can't master certain skills, then we may offer a path forward that doesn't require those skills. But we can't just push people through the system and pretend they learned things they didn't.

@33person Which is why I loopholed right around university-level math (which I paid for at a much later date, kids). I knew I wasn't at level. I hope to reach advanced arithmetic in a few years.

But in all seriousness, this seem to be the approach in a lot of places, from colleges to middle schools here, where the pass level for state standardized tests was simply lowered when enough kids couldn't reach it. Just because everyone loves McDonald's doesn't mean it's good food for the body.

@Graylight Yeah, the goal needs to be increasing learning, not increasing test scores. Test scores are the dependent variable. Unfortunately, with No Child Left Behind, etc, the incentives have been to increase test scores, not to increase learning.