September 11, 1996
While there are some government schools doing a good job, by and large our education establishment is corrupt beyond repair. “There you go again, Williams,” you say, “beating up on teachers.” Let's look at it. Karl Zinsmeister, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and editor in chief of its magazine American Enterprise, has written an article in its September/October 1996 edition titled “Doing Bad and Feeling Good.”
American students rank number one in the world in how good they feel about their math skills, but a 1992 international study by the Educational Testing Service showed American students ranking last in math achievement (behind Slovenia). Research surveys show self-esteem levels at least as high among black students as white students but a majority of either are unable to write a persuasive letter, date the Civil War, or calculate simple interest.
Educationists love the humane-sounding idea of self-esteem. It gives them cover for low standards and low effort both on their part and on that of students. After all, high standards, at least in the short run, provide grief for everyone. Teachers have to threaten, cajole, and punish, and often parents have to be confronted. It's easier just to keep students feeling good about themselves—while they don't know theirs from the one in the ground—and give them social promotions.
Educationists cover up this tragedy with deceit and dishonesty. According to the College Boards, in 1972, 28 percent of college-bound seniors had an A or B high school average. By 1993, 83 percent had an A or B average. During that interval, SAT scores went south. This clearly indicates what some call grade inflation and I call educational fraud. Since SAT scores have gone permanently south, and the public is increasingly aware of that fact, the educational establishment has resorted to “renorming” the SAT so as to give the appearance of progress.
That's the subtle dishonesty but there are more blatant forms. Staten Island's Public School 5 ranked first among New York's public schools in standardized reading and math tests. One parent couldn't figure out how her daughter scored in the 99th percentile in reading, yet could not read street signs. An investigation ensued and it uncovered widespread cheating, but not by students. According to the school chancellor of New York City, the school's principal, Murray Brenner, altered answer sheets. Wrong answers were erased and punched-out overlay sheets were used to make the correct circles. One student who originally scored in the 99th percentile in math plummeted to the 18th percentile after retesting.
The half-baked, never-worked-anywhere ideas that have taken over today's education can be readily understood. First, education departments at most colleges are the academic slums of the campus. Students who become education majors have the lowest SAT sores. Students who earn education degrees have lower LSAT, GMAT, and GRE scores (tests for graduate school admission) than any other major with the exception of social work majors. People with that kind of academic grounding fall easy prey to half-baked, never-worked-anywhere schemes.
More money, smaller classes, and higher teacher pay will not cure our education problems. The long-term solution is privatization—make education subject to competitive pressure. After all, most production that pleases us is a result of ruthless competition and the profit motive. Think about it. Most of what pleases us (computers, clothing, and food) is subject to that kind of pressure and most of what displeases us is not (post office, police, and schools).