>>>>> "B" == Bharathi Jagadeesh <bjag at ln.nimh.nih.gov> writes:
B> or that trying to get the best test scores undermines learning (the
B> goal of school), but that trying to run the fastest time satisfies
B> the goal of trying to run the fastest time.
That's surely the best reason behind publication of grades. Would you
rather students strive to learn and understand the material, or
students strive to get the best test scores.
If test scores are made that important, students will stop helping
their peers, because now it's a competition. Students won't care so
much about independant thought and learning the material, because when
scores are all-important learning the teacher's biases and preferences
is more important than the truth.
If test scores are so important as to be worth publically ranking, why
are colleges decreasing their reliance on SATs and ACTs for admission?
(There are also some studies out there saying that increased focus on
test scores results in less learning, but I can't find them at the
moment.)
--
Alan Shutko <ats at acm.org> - By consent of the corrupted
This login session: $13.99
