Quote:
Originally Posted by AmeliaG
I think that might just lead to grade inflation where people would be happy with mediocre teachers who handed out good grades liberally.
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Agreed.
I don't think incentive is the issue. It is a combination of the fact that education has become a political football and that the curriculum and structure of our education system that is flawed. First of all, a primary enemy of learning is the multiple choice test question. It serves to demotivate the student and makes them reliant on laziness. One of the answers is true... so it is a lottery as to whether or not the correct answer is chosen.
Additionally, the curriculum does not serve to train students for success by teaching them through challenge. The focus is on completing the assignment and passing the test which has been "means tested" against the lowest common denominator. Not to mention "grading on a curve".
There are a number of other issues that affect curriculum and systematic flaws that include how teachers are trained to teach. It would take a book to explain or address them all... however, the fundamental idea is that we need to address curriculum flaws and teaching methodology flaws. The most important change to curriculum would be from the current system to one that is less focused on graduation system (meaning K through 12) and more focused on the goal of education. The graduation system places all students in a box and is the antithesis of promoting students who are self motivated and self challenged. A system like this would quickly separate the wheat from the chaff.
This system should be easy enough to fix... there are groups of people who determine the curriculum. Usually it is a combination of the Dept of Education and a local agency or committee. Whether or not they would adopt an idea such as this is another question entirely.