OK. Obama/Duncan/Gates School "Reform" Model: The results Are IN !!! Today's NYT: P. A1

[jeff47]

52. No, we don't.

And I've been doing software development for 15 years.

The answer is yes. We do. That's called a peer review. And after the software is written, we test the hell out of it. That's called independent verification and validation.

In such reviews, you aren't asked to justify that bubble sort works. Not the implementation - the basic theory underlying the algorithm.

Also, you go pick up random people off the street for such reviews, right? "I know you're a waitress, but today we want you to evaluate this algorithm". Oh wait, the people doing those reviews are trained in the field and have experience.

Especially if you are writing flight software for spacecraft that support programs of national importance and would cause national embarrassment if they fail. Our children's education is a priority of national importance, and much more than just an embarrassment if we fail.

Again, such activities are done by people who are trained and experienced. They're not done by untrained people. And it doesn't result in untrained people telling you "Instead of writing that in C++, you have write this part in Algol and this part in Javascript."

I think we need to make a distinction between testing that is aimed at evaluating an individual student and that which is aimed at evaluating the teacher or the educational system itself.

No, what we need to understand is testing does not work.

You aren't tested at work - your boss doesn't walk up and say "today, you're gonna sit in this conference room with a number 2 pencil and take this test". Instead, you boss evaluates you on what you actually do in your job and how you actually perform your job. That includes far more than any 'test'.

The tests required for evaluating a student

Tests don't evaluate a student's knowledge. Tests evaluate a student's ability to take tests.

If you have any experience in software development, you've come across the utterly incompetent co-worker. The one who creates 5 bugs every time they fix one. They passed all the tests put before them. If tests were actually effective, they'd never have graduated, much less gotten a job doing software development.

Teachers evaluate students using a variety of measurements that go beyond tests. Just like your boss evaluates your performance on more than a bug queue.

You're demanding that kids take tests because you don't know how to evaluate them. How well would it work if someone demanded you program some really dumb way because they don't understand anything about computers?