Yes, Florida Education Sucks

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-13 09:14pm

Protest planned over Florida standardized exam

I saw this story just now on CNN, and damn it's funny. One question was 'a cube that is 5 meters on all sides has a density of 24lb/m^3. How much does it weigh?' The cridic of the test said this was one of the harder questions.

I think Florida is in serious denial.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-05-13 09:23pm

You may stone me if my dimensional analysis is horrible, but is the answer 120 lbs?

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-13 09:26pm

3000lb

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-05-13 09:37pm

*cries*

SpacedTeddyBear · Post by **SpacedTeddyBear** » 2003-05-13 09:51pm

This is in no way directed at Durran Korr but; You've got to be kidding me!

Correct me if I'm wrong when I say this: Isn't this just an algerbriac word problem?

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-05-13 09:58pm

Durran Korr wrote:*cries*

Well, a cube 5m by 5m by 5m has a volume of 125 cubic meters, and it's density is 24 pounds per cubic meter. 125x24 is 3000. And, did you notice they used two different systems of measurement there?

Anyway, I say instead of dumbing down the tests themselves, they should make the school cirriculum harder for future students. People should learn stuff in High School, as an HS education isn't there for just bragging rights among celebrities and rednecks.

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-13 10:16pm

of course they SHOULD learn things, but we must realize the fact that the vast majority of people on earth are complete dumbasses.

Add to that fact that we live in a society that is anti-intellectual, teachers arent a valued commidity and people often become teachers (especially the ones who end up at the worse schools) because they cant do anything else and arent the brightest apples in the bunch. The entire country needs to seriously revamp its approach to education at a primary and secondary level, at least the best and the brightest end up educating people at an undergraduate and graduate level, but we could at least shoot for second and third tier intellectuals being our teachers instead of people in the middle

Fact is that at least for the NJ equivalent of this test, anyone should be able to pass or they damn well had better not be graduating. These tests, at least in my experience, test to see if you can do basic arithmatic and algebra (no math more advanced than what I learned in 8th or 9th grade was on the NJ one), and test to see if a person basically can form a paragraph and can actually read and understand what they are reading.

These simple skills are so basic that the question is begged, why would you ever think that people should graduate high school without being able to read? Or add?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-13 10:26pm

The FCAT was a huge waste of time and everyone in my magnet program passed it with trivial ease - as did most of the people in the 'general curriculum' glasses.

Damn it, I was taking calculus and we had to do basic algebra, and not only that, but explain in excrutiating detail every step!

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-13 10:29pm

Most people are of average intelligence. The reason the people in Florida can't pass this test is because education priorities among the government, parents, and students is mostly pathetic. I'm sure RedImperator will come in here eventually so I will leave it to him to post his funny yet dead on accurate accessment of the American education system. Luckily we have great universities, whose science and engineering departments we fill with bright imported foreign students.

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-13 10:31pm

hey i go to a normal run of the mill public high school, servicing all people in two adjoining towns, with our fair share of really dumb people, our fair share of mentally disabled people, more than our fair share of people with ADD, etc. and every single student passed the HSPA (High School Proficiency Assesment, NJ equiv of this florida test). These tests are a joke, and i really think they set the standards way too low, you shouldnt be able to graduate high school if you dont know more than what these tests are testing right now.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-13 10:37pm

I should say that not all of Florida Public Schooling sucks. I went to a well-funded school with good teachers and a math and science-heavy courseload. Illuminatus goes to a school with a fairly heavy courseload as well.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-13 10:47pm

phongn wrote:I went to a well-funded school with good teachers and a math and science-heavy courseload.

Did you take the test in question, and if so, how did you do?

Newtonian Fury · Post by **Newtonian Fury** » 2003-05-13 10:50pm

Wicked Pilot wrote:Luckily we have great universities, whose science and engineering departments we fill with bright imported foreign students.

*looks at self* Hell yeah!

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-05-13 10:50pm

By the way, I'm really not a subhuman moron. That's what my mom tells me, at least.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-14 12:32am

One of the big reasons kids fail this test is they are recent immigrants with poor English skills. So there is an entire groups of advocates who try to protect those people from failing the tests.

The problem they never address, what good will a diploma do these folks if they cant read/write English or in the case of native speakers they cant pass the test.

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-14 12:46am

maybe instead of say, advocating that they shouldnt fail the test due to a language problem, you require them to go to school until they can pass the basic requirements of education. I really dont see what the real problem people have with forcing kids to repeat grade levels when they fail to fufil basic educational requiremetns (i would greatly increase the requiremetns myself)

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-14 12:53am

NapoleonGH wrote:maybe instead of say, advocating that they shouldnt fail the test due to a language problem, you require them to go to school until they can pass the basic requirements of education. I really dont see what the real problem people have with forcing kids to repeat grade levels when they fail to fufil basic educational requiremetns (i would greatly increase the requiremetns myself)

There is a big segment of people out there who believe we cant let anyone fall behind, even if it means lowering the bar for everyone in the process.

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-14 12:56am

well people DO fall behind, hence their inability to pass the test. Being held back due to not pasing the test shows that they ARE falling behind, which means that educational standards should be raised in lower grades so that people actually, i dont know, LEARN something.

Furthermore, I ask WHY? why should be pass people along simply so they can say they graduated high school, without actually having an knowledge or education? Why shouldnt those who cannot cut it, be forced to "fall behind"?

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-14 12:59am

NapoleonGH wrote:well people DO fall behind, hence their inability to pass the test. Being held back due to not pasing the test shows that they ARE falling behind, which means that educational standards should be raised in lower grades so that people actually, i dont know, LEARN something.

Furthermore, I ask WHY? why should be pass people along simply so they can say they graduated high school, without actually having an knowledge or education? Why shouldnt those who cannot cut it, be forced to "fall behind"?

Your asking the wrong person. I agree with you. However, it does not change the fact that there are people that actually advocate for unprepared students to be allowed to graduate. The sad part, is they think they are doing these kids a favor but all they do is waste their time, since they quickly bomb out of college.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-14 10:53am

Wicked Pilot wrote:
phongn wrote:I went to a well-funded school with good teachers and a math and science-heavy courseload.
Did you take the test in question, and if so, how did you do?

My class was the first year that had to take the FCAT "for real" (when I was in eighth grade, we were the test class for the middle school exam, and a friend actually drew christmas trees in the free-response section).

I passed with ease - you first take the test in 10th grade and can repeat in 11th and 12th grade. A total waste of time that could have been better spent - though the test that preceded the FCAT, the HSCT, was reported to be even easier(!)