Are Our Kids Falling Behind?

 

When I took the ACT Test, I didn't know it might have been wise to have prepared for the test.  Today, students do that, with tutoring, practice tests, often taking the test more than once.  When I took the LSAT to apply for Law School my husband brought home a brochure, with a few sample questions on it.  I answered those and thought I was good-to-go.  I don't know if other students prepared for those  tests back when I was taking them.  Did my good fortune indicate that our educations several decades ago prepared us better for the tests or that the tests are more difficult now or something else?

The newspaper headline that prompted me to write this blog had a headline in bold black letters:  State lags in national marks, followed by "Kansas' class of 2023 has record-low ACT scores.  The article went on to say that Kansas fell behind the national average.  

This blog is not meant to belittle Kansas students, nor is it meant to criticize teachers.  It is meant to make all of us think.  I have blogged about how expensive college is.  I have blogged about people in our community who have chosen not to attend college and who have become successful business owners.  I have blogged about what I see as unfairness of paying off college student loans for students that knowingly went into debt to get a college diploma, while other students chose a career path that did not put them into a huge debt, settling for a path that they could afford.  It troubles me that kids that had the judgement to find another path--working part time, alternating college one semester-work the next, getting through college in twice the time but without debt, getting a 2-year degree and then working and taking night or online classes to finally get the 4-year diploma, or finding various ways to fulfill their dream in ways they could manage economically.  

Part of a college student's education should be awareness of the debt they are accruing and having a reasonable plan for how they will repay the debt.  This is a problem that needs to be addressed in some logical way, and the government simply paying off student debt is not going to resolve the problem of continuing expense for those who want a college education. Neither is it fair to those students who acted responsibly and did not accumulate excessive debt.  Colleges and universities also have a responsibility to find ways for the expense of a college education to be manageable, and that does not mean just asking others to sponsor scholarships while costs continue to rise.

We haven't figured out how to guide responsible capable students to affordable education, if that is what they want, nor how to recognize and aid those students that need help.  Universities do not need climbing walls and other perks to entertain and attract students.  They should not need to lower criteria for top grades.  I was an honor student, and I did not have a straight A average.  Sorry, but just because today's students are smarter than I will ever be on a computer does not mean, in my opinion, that other ways of measuring education are no longer relevant.  I have not been in a classroom in a very long time, and I do not know how students are evaluated today.  However, I do know that universities feel pushed to be competitive with other universities when graduates enter the hiring market.  It seems almost unavoidable that they might be tempted to flatten the old bell curve to help their graduates find jobs, if they perceive other universities are doing that.  

I cannot but wonder how today's students are tested.  Have they shown discipline, preparation, responsibility, reason, on a daily basis.  Are they tested regularly or only at the end of the semester?  Are they tested without access to phones and laptops?  Are the class sizes limited enough for professors to even recognize individual students and character traits? 

What I do know is that we are entering a time when education is about more than asking AI to solve our problems.  That is why reading is so important.  It trains our minds to follow information, whether we are reading history, fiction, logic, instructions,--all of which develop reason, logic, sequence, discipline, empathy, and so many other things that make us intelligent humans.  Our phones, our computers, and AI give us answers.  They do not teach us how to be humans.    

Here is one thing I do know.  High Schools are still free.  That is the time to take advantage of getting as much education as you can.  Do your best work in High School and take advantage of extra classes if they are offered.  And read!  It is wonderful that kids are more proficient on computers than I am, but reading does more for your brain than just surfing online.  The world seems mired in problems, and we need thoughtful, responsible people to resolve those problems.