October 2,
2009
GUEST
EDITORIAL
Education:
Are we getting our money's worth?
By
IVAN BELIVEAU
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In the question of education, the answer may be difficult to determine. The chart below of SAT scores over a 34-year period would seem to indicate that there has been a major decline:
This chart confirms: 'The quality of schooling is far worse
today than it was in 1955,'' Dr. Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate.
In 1995 SAT tests were revised in both content (less rigor than before) and in scoring methods - - unrelated to past measurement criteria. For decades we were measuring education content and its scores in 'apples' but then, as the public outcry against declining quality swelled, SAT content and scoring was changed to 'oranges'.
It wouldn’t be an unreasonable question to ask how good is US education overall?
Test scores against some
other countries indicate that the US isn’t in the
lead.
A lot of
money has been spent in Goffstown on education. In fact,
the costs per pupil have risen dramatically over the
recent decades with questionable results.
Isn’t
it reasonable to ask some questions about what is
happening with our education money?
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