RE: Vietnam has a better education system than the United States according to new report
May 13, 2015 at 10:18 am
(This post was last modified: May 13, 2015 at 10:18 am by Ben Davis.)
(May 13, 2015 at 9:13 am)Alex K Wrote: So we know that children in Asia can solve standardized tests in mathematics and science better, on average. That's one measure, not the measure by a long shot. You can then discuss whether that's worth routinely bringing your students to the brink of suicide in the process as some countries there do. One should also analyze whether this implies that they have the necessary training for innovation and technological and scientific progress, and how those abilities are measured best.
Yeah, examining the methodology, it seems that it might be a suitable method of comparing national abilities in maths & 'sciences' but:
1. it doesn't list the 'sciences' that are tested
2. it doesn't specify how much focus/weighting in the tests is put on each 'science'
3. the sample size is relatively small considering the total population, which may skew the results
So as a way of testing the 'quality of global education', I think it fails. What of the Humanities, Arts and Sport? What of teacher selection processes, curricula and teaching methods? What of spending, investment and infrastructure? What of the social and cultural constructs which frame the education system?
It's thusly an interesting stretch to relate the performance scores to national financial performance, indicating the amount of cash to be made if scores were higher. I think that's a useful way to sell education to those governments who prioritise their spending elsewhere (show them the Business Case!) but since the underlying scores are an unreliable indicator of performance, the quoted GDP Increases are flawed.
Sum ergo sum
