Only 22% of California 8th Graders Pass National Science Test 580
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by
Soulskill
from the above-the-mendoza-line dept.
from the above-the-mendoza-line dept.
bonch writes "22 percent of California eighth-graders passed a national science test, ranking California among the worst in the U.S. according to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress. The test measures knowledge in Earth and space sciences, biology, and basic physics. The states that fared worse than California were Mississippi, Alabama, and a tie between the District of Columbia and Hawaii. 'Nationally, 31 percent of eighth-graders who were tested scored proficient or advanced. Both the national and state scores improved slightly over scores from two years ago, the last time the test was administered.'"
What's the percentage for Slashdoters? Seriously. (Score:4, Interesting)
Can someone post the test here. I think it would be really interesting to see what percent of Slashdot readers can pass the test.
Re:Makes no sense (Score:3, Interesting)
You are leaving out the fact that untill about a year ago Calironia was actually run by Republicans. With the exception of the bay area and LA, California actually votes republican (not saying Democrats are any better, just pointing out the data).
That must explain why California's electoral votes have gone Democrat for like 30+ years.
So, except for the multiple decades of a significant majority of the population who vote for Democrats, a Democrat Governer, and a Democrate-controlled Legislature, it's the Republican's fault?
Dude, did you brain wake up today?
Re:Makes no sense (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What's the percentage for Slashdoters? Seriousl (Score:4, Interesting)
Virtually all of them. My kid is in 8th grade and I am familiar with the material. Not everyone here would get 100%, but passing it is well within the skills of anyone with any science background at all. Someone who couldn't pass this would have no interest in 90% of what slashdot posts and would not spend time here.
Re:Makes no sense (Score:5, Interesting)
That's a good thing.
No it is not! And I say that as a fiscally conservative Californian.
Governments have a natural bias to raise taxes and run up debts. So it is reasonable to require a super-majority to do these. But the problem in California, is that we require a super-majority just to pass a budget, even if that budget is restrained and balanced. That just leads to permanent gridlock, and since we are heading off a fiscal cliff, locking the steering wheel in place is not a good idea (hows that for a car analogy).
Re:Standards mean competition. (Score:4, Interesting)
Every school teacher I have ever spoken with on the subject agrees: involved parents generally mean good students, uninvolved parents make for taxpayer-funded daycare until age 18.
Re:Makes no sense (Score:4, Interesting)
While I agree with you, I'm not sure it's the same.
Even if I don't have a car, roads are pretty useful things. People bring me stuff from other places in the United States on those roads. That's why I have no problem paying for roads in Idaho, even though I have no intention of using them.
Conversely, I don't really get any benefit from paying for someone else's car insurance.
Re:Makes no sense (Score:4, Interesting)
Right. There is no benefit to you at all from living in a country with an educated population. None.
And indeed there is a downside. Being around educated people can make you feel inferior. Have you noticed how "elite" when applied to someone's knowledge or intellectual accomplishments is now a pejorative -- excuse me, I mean a bad word? Curiously it's not a bad word when applied to people who are "elite" due to their power or wealth.