Ignition for Education

This week, the Economist delivers a data-laden critique of rising high school graduation rates: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/03/10/new-numbers-show-falling-standards-in-american-high-schools

In short, more kids are passing because high school is getting easier, not because of improvement in learning.

Some people will argue that this means that the United States needs a national curriculum, or perhaps some sort of national or international credential, like British A-levels or the International Baccalaureate. But all those things can be dumbed-down as well.

So how can we insist on high academic standards, make it possible for students to reach those standards if they put in reasonable effort, make it necessary for students to reach those standards to avoid failing (whether “failing” means being denied graduation or being denied promotion at an earlier stage), and avoid creating a non-credentialed or low-credentialed underclass?

I’ll be returning to these questions. I just wanted to raise them this evening, and to encourage people to read the article.