I started reading http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=1 in the New York Times Magazine and I was stopped dead in my tracks with amazement, even for me. You will see why when you read my comment. Here it is:
“This tale from the article (that I have copied and pasted below) is outrageous. Unfortunately, from my observations as a former professor, it is just par for the course. Most people in today’s higher education industry don’t have any interest in education. They may be interested in money, prestige, rankings, research, fame in their field – but in education? No, either they just aren’t interested; or, it is a losing proposition to try to fight, or change from the inside, such a gigantic, sick system.
If reading the following makes some people wonder just how sick the whole system of higher education might be, they are right to do so:
“…Perelman coached 16 students who [had] received mediocre scores on the essay…He told them that… factual accuracy didn’t [matter]. “You can tell them the War of 1812 began in 1945,” he said. He encouraged them to sprinkle in… words like “plethora” or “myriad” and to use two or three preselected quotes from prominent figures…regardless of whether they were relevant to the question…Fifteen…scored higher than the 90th percentile on the essay when they retook the exam…”
To paraphrase Ivan Ilych, the biggest threat to education in America is the higher education industry. And it is a threat to the whole educational system, not just higher education. Just see the category “University Education Dumbs Down High School” on my blog inside-higher-ed.com to see how it happens.”
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