Data on the actual efficacy of our education system. Facts, not feelings.
So, I read an article in the WSJ a while ago. It stated that the US position in these rankings has drastically fallen and that the US is about 20 in the World.
I'd like to see 'Fro's data and if that data refutes this, and why.
I'll speak up for
@OrangeAfroMan :
Our Education system is very good, probably the best in the world.
You can't simply compare end results because kids are not all equal. You have to measure input vs output to get a measurement of "value added".
I'll give an example:
Let's say I'm a teacher in a rich suburban district where substantially all of my students come from two parent homes and in most cases (probably close to all) both parents have college degrees.
Further suppose that Fro teaches in a getto district where a significant percentage of the students were born in the state's women's prison, almost zero of his students come from two parent homes (most have never even met their fathers), and literally none of his students' single moms have even so much as an associates degree.
If we simply test outputs, I am inherently going to look better than Fro. My students will EASILY outscore Fro's even if he is one of the best 10% of teachers and I am one of the worst 10% of teachers.
My students will outscore Fro's because I've cherry picked such that my students are top 10% and his are bottom 10%.
However, if we test at the beginning of the school year and again at the end, we'll be able to discern that Fro's kids are improving more than mine because he is a better teacher.