Forty or fifty years ago, our educational system, was unique in the world. Of all the nations, we were the only one who was teaching our children to think and analyze. Third world countries focused on teaching their children to memorize and recite. Other developed countries focused upon teaching their students how to perform calculations, write reports, and use scientific facts. But only the United States had an educational system which taught the students how to reason and analyze.
Something has happened in the last 40 years. Somehow, the educational system of the United States, the most powerful nation in the world, has gone from being excellent to being much less than adequate. I’m tempted to say that we’ve learned how to copy the educational system in third-world countries.
That wouldn’t be right though. Really, we’ve done something much worse than copy the third-world educational system. What we’ve done is form an educational system that focuses on teaching children how to pass tests. We no longer care if our children can think; nor do we really care if they learn anything in school. All we care about is if they can do well on the standardized tests.
A few of the state’s departments of education has recognized this phenomenon, and decided to do something about it. While they understand that they cannot totally eliminate the standardized tests, they have also realized that it’s time to change those tests.
New tests are being implemented in Texas and other states, which will analyze the student’s ability to analyze and come to their own conclusions. In other words, they won’t just be spitting back facts or solving for “X”, they’ll have to derive their own facts from concepts.
While this system is receiving skepticism in some quarters, and many school administrators are trembling in their shoes over the problems it will cause for test grades in the first few years, it might just be what our school systems need. It is only when our children learn to think for themselves, that we can be sure that the United States will have a bright tomorrow.