[Vision2020] Interesting Report by S&P on Michigan's Govt Schools

[Jared N. Miller]

Tom Hansen wrote:

> I believe that the best way to evaluate the "product" of private and
public
> schools would be to administer a standardized test of the students at the
> 6th, 9th, and 12th grade levels.
>
> However, realizing that this is currently only cunducted at public
schools,
> this suggestion is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Just a newbie weighing in. . . As a "product" (an interesting way to
classify oneself--very standardized & mass-produced) of a certain local
private school (and now, of a certain public university), I am in a good
position testify. We took standardized tests /every year/ from elementary
onwards. In our junior year we took the PSAT and senior year we took both
the ACT and SAT. The school makes these results available to parents and,
I'm sure, to the general public.

The question of the actual value of standardized tests is another entirely,
and an almost certain point of controversy. Any student who is "good" at
taking tests can tell you that there is a certain amount of skill involved
quite apart from raw intelligence. The hard sciences lend themselves better
to it, but I know of no standardized test that could effectively measure
creativity, writing & communication skills, reading comp., etc. Can a test
measure the capacity of a student for lifelong (and largely self-taught)
learning? And that's really what education is all about, isn't it?

Jared N. Miller