American Millennials are among the world's least skilled

Williebee · Mar 25, 2015

I suspect that the income achievement gap plays into this, too.

Historically, low-income students as a group have performed less well than high-income students on most measures of academic success—including standardized test scores, grades, high school completion rates, and college enrollment and completion rates.

It has noticeably widened over the last 30-40 years.

Xelebes · Mar 31, 2015

Williebee said:
I suspect that the income achievement gap plays into this, too.

It has noticeably widened over the last 30-40 years.

Some further commentary on that from Canada:

Students at Canadian private schools do better than their public school peers because of their backgrounds and classmates, not the schools themselves, Statistics Canada says in a new report.

The study followed 7,142 Grade 10 students, focusing on standardized test scores in reading, math and science at age 15, as well as the qualifications they had earned by age 23.

Private school students had higher test scores and more educational success after high school, but Statistics Canada says none of the differences could be attributed to school resources and practices.

Myrealana · Apr 1, 2015

I have to say, this lack of problem solving isn't limited to millennials. I just spent half an hour walking a supposedly well-educated, experienced financial analyst through basic methods of finding and explaining variances AGAIN, and he's old enough to have children who are millennials.

StormChord · Apr 1, 2015

Looks like there are people in every generation who are less than satisfactory in the problem solving department. :/

robeiae · Apr 1, 2015

Xelebes said:
Some further commentary on that from Canada:

Students at Canadian private schools do better than their public school peers because of their backgrounds and classmates, not the schools themselves, Statistics Canada says in a new report.

The study followed 7,142 Grade 10 students, focusing on standardized test scores in reading, math and science at age 15, as well as the qualifications they had earned by age 23.

Private school students had higher test scores and more educational success after high school, but Statistics Canada says none of the differences could be attributed to school resources and practices.

I don't know how they can make such an absolute claim, that none of the differences could be attributed to school resources and practices. That strikes me as improbable, to say the least.

That said, in my experience private school is a good choice for middle-of-the-road students above all else. Public schools--in the U.S.--seem to work out the best for the extreme over achievers and for the students with learning disabilities.

Xelebes · Apr 1, 2015

robeiae said:
I don't know how they can make such an absolute claim, that none of the differences could be attributed to school resources and practices. That strikes me as improbable, to say the least.

I think that when it came to analysing the data, they could not find any results that would suggest that better resources from the school would lead to better results. In that end, I think this study suggests that the biggest cause of the income inequality resulting in a growing disparity of results is the segregation that occurs, if not by race, by class.

robeiae · Apr 1, 2015

Xelebes said:
In that end, I think this study suggests that the biggest cause of the income inequality resulting in a growing disparity of results is the segregation that occurs, if not by race, by class.

I think that's pretty much a "duh" conclusion. Don't need a study to see the obvious.

But that doesn't mean no part of the higher scores and educational successes after high school can be a consequence of how a private school benefited some students.

American Millennials are among the world's least skilled

Williebee

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

StormChord

Allegedly Gullible

robeiae

Touch and go

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

robeiae

Touch and go