What The Left Has Done To Our Schools...

[Starlight]

um. if the students taking the test are lower performing then it is due to a decline in teaching those students. Or do you think that we just have generally lower IQ kids today?

It's a heavily-studied phenomena, known as the Flynn Effect, that average IQ has increased dramatically over the last 100 years. It's believed that better nutrition and increased education are the primary causes.

[Psychic Missile]

and you failed to respond to the point that if all students are getting the same education and the education was good, then the average test scores should be the same no matter how many took the test. And it doesn't explain the fact that all students have been taking the test for over 40 years now and the test scores have been dropping.

Different students will get different scores regardless of the education homogeneity or quality. Your first argument only makes sense if you believe that everyone is of equal scholastic intelligence. What source are you using that shows a modern decline?

[lilpixieofterror]

Even if you don't intend to do it, your posting is indistinguishable from trolling. If aren't trying to troll, you should not be making bad-faith assumptions about opinions you are opposed to, otherwise you are just arguing against your own imagination.

Than I suggest you stop saying silly comments that don’t match up to reality instead of blaming others for your silly comment. Schools employees are government workers and schools do hire plenty of non degree employees too. They have bus drivers, lunch aids, secretaries, or janitors too and need skilled laborers too. School districts have pretty large work forces. The LA school district has 108,900 employees and is the third largest employer in the county. Check out your county. Bet your local school district is in the top ten biggest employers.

Teacher unions are certainly a strong force, but I don't see how they have most of the power in matters of curriculum. They are only strong in the face of employment issues like firings or salary. Curriculum change tends to come from elected government officials.

Which contribute millions to these elected officials re-election campaign every year. If the logic is the NRA or Koch brothers are influencing our political process than the logic equally applies to teacher unions too.

[rogue06]

And now we even have Eric Levitz of New York magazine proclaiming that conservative opinions are not needed for diversity since he has decided that they're irrelevant (because conservatives allowed Trump to be elected) and because one can obtain diversity of opinion simply by letting moderate liberals debate far-left liberals. Apparently this was triggered by The Atlantic magazine firing Kevin Williamson seemingly for no other reason than because of his strong pro-life view.

[Sparko]

It's a heavily-studied phenomena, known as the Flynn Effect, that average IQ has increased dramatically over the last 100 years. It's believed that better nutrition and increased education are the primary causes.

So that is why the test scores have fallen?

Seems like they should have gone up in that case, eh?

[Sparko]

Different students will get different scores regardless of the education homogeneity or quality. Your first argument only makes sense if you believe that everyone is of equal scholastic intelligence. What source are you using that shows a modern decline?

Your claim is what doesn't add up PM. You want to claim that education is great, yet we have students who can't read an analog clock! Who don't know who won the civil war or world war 2. Who can't tell you who the vice President is. Who can't find Kansas on a map. Who can't do simple math. We either have stupider students or worse education. Take your pick.

[Mountain Man]

They don't even have to look different. You could have a group made up entirely of black people, and liberals would applaud the "diversity". Of course a group of white people is decried as racist regardless of what any individual in the group might do or say, and often before they have a chance to do or say anything.

[Charles]

They don't even have to look different. You could have a group made up entirely of black people, and liberals would applaud the "diversity".

Can you give some examples?

[Sparko]

Can you give some examples?

can you actually contribute to the debate instead of making idiotic comments and nipping at heels?

[Mountain Man]

It's a heavily-studied phenomena, known as the Flynn Effect, that average IQ has increased dramatically over the last 100 years. It's believed that better nutrition and increased education are the primary causes.

We've been over this before. Lots of problems with the Flynn Effect. First of all, it's vigorously debated among researchers whether or not intelligence can even be meaningfully measured. And secondly, people in the past score better on practical matters, like the ability to survive when there isn't a Walmart down the street, whereas people in later generations, living in relative comfort and safety, are more familiar with abstract and academic pursuits. That has nothing to do with intelligence, it's just the environment that people happen to find themselves in. I think it's true that people today are generally more educated than those in the past, but that doesn't make us more intelligent. There are plenty of educated idiots out there.

[Charles]

can you actually contribute to the debate instead of making idiotic comments and nipping at heels?

Asking for evidence is not idiotic. Looking forward to see if MM can provide some good examples.

[Sparko]

Asking for evidence is not idiotic. Looking forward to see if MM can provide some good examples.

Can you provide evidence that you are not some sort of bot?

[Charles]

Can you provide evidence that you are not some sort of bot?

I was pointing out that asking for evidence is not idiotic contrary to what you claimed and when you have not got a good response you come up with this... Sad.

[Sparko]

I was pointing out that asking for evidence is not idiotic contrary to what you claimed and when you have not got a good response you come up with this... Sad.

So I guess the answer is "no."

Charles, MM was making a snide comment with a hypothetical situation. Your nipping at his heels asking him for examples is not contributing to the conversation, it is heckling. You do this all the time. Going around annoying other people who are trying to have a discussion while not actually participating in the discussion yourself with any points to make of your own. Stop it.

[Charles]

So I guess the answer is "no."

Charles, MM was making a snide comment with a hypothetical situation. Your nipping at his heels asking him for examples is not contributing to the conversation, it is heckling. You do this all the time. Going around annoying other people who are trying to have a discussion while not actually participating in the discussion yourself with any points to make of your own. Stop it.

If MM cannot support his claim he should not make it. Asking for support for his claim is fair. Give him a chance to answer.