Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!dykimber
From: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Student preparedness (was Re: Student and ... (was Rising cost ...))
Keywords: student segragtion
Message-ID: <4936@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 17 Dec 88 06:07:06 GMT
References: <1131@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.edu> <1887@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> <1057@l.cc.purdue.edu> <776@afit-ab.arpa> <4893@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <608@wuphys.UUCP> <18412@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
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Organization: Princeton University, NJ
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In article <18412@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> c60a-2by@web-2a.berkeley.edu (Oliver Juang) writes:
>Unfortunately, although I agree with the idea of segregating the "dead
>weight" from the "geniuses", there are quite a few problems with making this
>happen effectively in real life.  Especially with regards as to which people
>are "dead weight", or "geniuses".  How do you propose to distinguish them?
>Their grades?  (what if a previous teacher graded unfairly)
>IQ tests? (I'm sure IQ test have been discussed before on this newsgroup,
>but I'm new to it)
>Finances of parents?
>Nationality?
>The letter their name begins with?

I agree somewhat, but I think that even if some are left behind unfairly, it's
better to give some people the advantage of the sort of education they deserve
than to not give it to anyone because you can't give it to everyone.  Of course
the problem is that the two types of errors (advancing dead weight and
holding back geniuses) may outweigh the hits and correct rejections.  But I
don't think so.  I think the real problem is that to some extent, having
high aptitude students skip a grade or whatever isn't going to solve the
problem.  They'll still be higher aptitude, they'll just have a little more
material to make up.  They need faster paced learning, not learning at a higher
level.  This sort of implies that more wholesale changes would be necessary.

                                                 -Dan