[Phys-L] Re: Ambiguous Question

[John M Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

Yes, however the stakes in this case determined where the student
went.  It is certainly desirable to prevent incompetents from being
engineers or doctors.  The current high stakes testing is high stakes
for the educators and encourages destructive practices and cheating.

You do have to put barriers to protect society, but punishing people
for being unable to do something they do not know how to do or for
conditions they have not control over is like putting debtors in
prison until they pay.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> At 08:38 AM 11/18/2005, you wrote:
> > A big IF.  High stakes testing has only one purpose.  It is designed
> > to
> > punish the workers to make them work harder.  That strategy has never
> > been
> > successful.  You can't just increase the speed of the assembly line
> > and
> > punish the workers when they can't handle it.  This exactly what is
> > happening in education.  The requirements are increasing without any
> > regard
> > to what can be done, and the workers are not being trained to work
> > better.
> > ///
> > John M. Clement
> > Houston, TX
>
>
> Hmmmm..I am a product of high-stakes testing.
> I may already have mentioned (probably ad nauseam) that I
> experienced
> a high stakes test at age 11   then called the eleven plus.
>
> Passers attended selective high schools - then the only route to
> (state-paid)
> university classes.
>
> Without sympathizing with this system - let me say this: HSTesting
> does
>  more than  "Punish workers".
> It is a means to discriminate members of a population who exhibit
> some
> desired quality. And it does this. Though we may not like the
> results, nor
>  even the qualities sought.
>
>
> Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!
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