Education
Education and Training
Test scores in the fundamentals matter. But outcomes matter more.
Economic growth requires increased productivity which is the result of innovation. So the biggest measure of a successful education system: can we innovate?
Problem in Asia is grads who can’t think and create. Rote learning education systems pump out people who can tenaciously implement a list of five bullet points, but who can’t (or won’t) figure out what bullet points six and seven should be. Those grads are fine for the factory floor, but they’re not good for creating what the factory makes.
And robots are coming for those factory floor jobs.
According to a new report by Oxford Economics, worldwide up to 20 million manufacturing jobs could be lost to robots by 2030 — just 11 years away. The writers add that’s a very conservative estimate. China is adding more robots than anyone.
Education systems must develop students who can think.
Here is what a successful school system looks like:
1) Teacher Training: Do we attract bright people to the profession? Are we giving them the skills they need to effectively communicate complex principles?
2) Hands On Learning: Approaches like STEM prove far more effective in getting kids to learn complex ideas than rote learning from a teacher at a chalkboard. The challenge? Hands on learning requires great teachers, and there’s a massive shortage of them.
3) Using Technology: It’s 2019, not 1919.
Video conferencing could expose more students to the very best teachers. There is no need for every school to have five below average chemistry teachers.
Imagine if one good teacher did a video lesson from a remote location and the students watching in the classroom were supported by two teaching assistants. Teachers and their unions hate this.
4) Test scores: Find the balance. Finland is an example of a successful system that does very little standardized testing. Systems like the U.S. and Hong Kong that only teach to standardized tests are a disaster. But at some point, we have to measure if the children are learning.
5) Decentralization: Best practices tell us the more control local schools have, the better they serve their students. The more control distant bureaucracies have, the worse the outcomes. For more, read about the Finnish school system.
6) Parent choice: Would you continue to go to a mechanic who didn’t fix your car and charged a high price every time you came back for another repair? Of course not. But, that’s the public school system in too many places. School boards tell parents their child must attend an assigned school, likely in their neighborhood.
Parents should be able to move their kids from failing schools to successful ones. Competition is the best way to make everyone better. Teachers and their unions hate parent choice. Vouchers are a simple way to do this.
7) Elite and vocational: We have to give our best students the skills to succeed in university. We also have to recognize university should be for no more than the top third of graduates. The system must prepare the other students just as well. This means apprenticeships and technical colleges.
A secondary school system is a massive failure if it requires most students to attend tertiary schools for several years at high cost. The U.S. is currently using college as remedial education for failed secondary schools; a disaster because too many students will never monetize the expense.
8) Innovation: Can grads go to work and find better ways of doing things? That’s the ultimate test, since it makes the economy grow. Creating something like the iPhone, a better for an elevator or even a more efficient way to collect the trash or clean toilets all make life better.