High Standards
Charley Reese laments on the level of education in the United States today:
Here…is the geography test the 14-year-olds of that day [1910] were expected to pass.Reese closes saying:That was about the easiest of the tests. One of the questions on the physiology test is: 'Trace a drop of blood from the time it enters the left ventricle until it returns to its starting point, and name the different valves and principal arteries and veins through it which passes.'
- What causes the difference in climate between Eastern and Western Washington?
- Name 10 wild animals of Africa.
- Tell some reasons why the people of Washington are interested in the Orient.
- Name the five chief nations of Europe and give their capitals.
- Name five important cities and five products of Canada.
- Sketch a map of South America, locating three rivers and five capital cities.
- What and where are the following: Liverpool, Panama, Suez, Ural, Liberia, Quebec, Pikes Peak, Yosemite, Danube and San Diego?
- Name the five principal crops of the United States and tell the section where each is raised.
- Describe the Nile and the country through which it flows.
- Name the largest country of Asia, three important cities, three rivers and three important products.
Politicians have reimposed mandatory tests, but these tests reflect today's watered-down courses. In one state, students are considered to have passed if they can answer only 40 percent of the questions – which are, of course, true-false and multiple-choice questions. A monkey has a 50-50 chance of passing a true-false test.Where on earth is the left ventricle?
The fundamental problem, I believe, is that true education is no longer valued, least of all by most students. Credentials, not knowledge, are the goal of the present system. That is a greater threat to America's future than all the terrorists in the world.
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