Is School Harder Now Than It Used to Be?

I think part of the reason I think so harshly about how low test scores and stuff are in the US right now is because of the school I went to....my high school was really good, there were tons of kids taking and passing AP tests, my class set a record for highest ACT average in the school's history (something like a 25 average), and of 303 kids in my class, we had a 99% graduation rate -- something that is unheard of in the US, especially for a public high school.

And I think that No Child Left Behind policy is what is destroying lots of schools....also, the fact that many public schools in the US are drastically underfunded and therefore can't afford to offer harder courses.

True at schools which have many classes and choices (like mine) the kids there usually do well. The schools with few classes and choices the kids don't do as well. Also in reality the divide between rich and poor people and neighbourhoods plays a major factor as well.

Like my school was in old area and it looks like very old and broken. However most of the kids almost 75% are people who actually live a few KM north of the school (like me) in a rich Suburbian area.
Also most were Brown people so the graduation rates were high and most kids do overall 75-85% averages. However another high school in the same type of neighbourhood as my school has a much lower graduation and score rate because the only people that go there are people who live near it.

Like my school it does not have many fights as most people are not poor desperate lunatics who had nothing else ahead of them. However there is a lot of cheating going in the classes. Almost everyone. Many kids want to get in university and would do anything to get a higher grade.

The educational system here is a joke! You have to try pretty damn hard to fail here 😐 Coursework alone ensures at least a non-U pass grade 😬

In a distance format, the school is easier, but many students do not understand the material, so they use the website https://www.collegepaperworld.com/do-my-homework.html because they cannot do their homework on their own as before.

Originally posted by RedAlertv2
Well, I have been thinking about this a bit. Back 30-40 years or so, school had tougher discipline, and there was less work, but it was graded harsher. Nowadays, it seems like we get more busywork, and there are also harsher requirements to get into universities. So who has it easier? The people in school now, or those who went through 30-40 years ago?

Originally posted by Blakemore
Yeah. I think Elliot Roger still has the high score.

Way to revive such a dead thread totally legitimate new member to KMC who is definitely not trying to sell stuff.

To answer OP's question: we are getting better at teaching our children. Teaching them in ways that they can learn and retain useful information. Also, more children are learning than ever.

So it's both easier and better than in decades past. Also, our science is more accurate. Access to the internet makes information more readily available. I was in the generation of students that grew up using the internet, exclusively, for schoolwork. Laid the foundations for a SUPER easy time in college.

Has there been a truly noticeable change? In terms of grades and where we rank in the world?

Originally posted by Surtur
Has there been a truly noticeable change? In terms of grades and where we rank in the world?

Grades don't matter as much as testable knowledge and understanding matters.

This includes literacy.

Grades are a measure of a child's conscientiousness from O.C.E.A.N. Not of actual learning.

Originally posted by dadudemon
Grades don't matter as much as testable knowledge and understanding matters.

This includes literacy.

Grades are a measure of a child's conscientiousness from O.C.E.A.N. Not of actual learning.

School is WAY harder now than it used to be for me, since this semester I have to home school😛 (talk about a stress on a family especially with a kid that is in early teens and wants freedom from family, poor guy)

Seriously though the internet has bridged information in such a way that school is alot "easier."

Originally posted by dadudemon
Grades don't matter as much as testable knowledge and understanding matters.

This includes literacy.

Grades are a measure of a child's conscientiousness from O.C.E.A.N. Not of actual learning.

So when it comes to testable knowledge and understanding matters where do we rank in the world? Where did we rank 20 years ago?

Originally posted by snowdragon
School is WAY harder now than it used to be for me, since this semester I have to home school😛 (talk about a stress on a family especially with a kid that is in early teens and wants freedom from family, poor guy)

Seriously though the internet has bridged information in such a way that school is alot "easier."

Both of mine are doing the online thing, I don't think they're absorbing much. It's hard enough to keep focus and learn in school due to boredom and distractions, now being at home while watching some teacher talk through a camera, that shit is likely going in one ear and out the other.

Originally posted by Robtard
Both of mine are doing the online thing, I don't think they're absorbing much. It's hard enough to keep focus and learn in school due to boredom and distractions, now being at home while watching some teacher talk through a camera, that shit is likely going in one ear and out the other.

I do workbook pages in the evening to reinforce lessons, he HATES it but it's good for him and it's nice he has to use a pen/pencil and long hand his math🙂

I also use khan academy to reinforce lessons and give him youtube channels based off teacher's feedback we watch and talk about it at night.

It's a pita, let's face it, school is parents daily vacation from kids 😆

This Khan?

Cos that would be awesome

Ha. If you don't know, it's this guy on youtube who teaches maths.

Cos that would be awesome

Ha, no😛

Ha. If you don't know, it's this guy on youtube who teaches maths.

Neat🙂

****ing hell I miss a bunch of these old posters. Really hammers home how much of a shithole this place has become in the last 12 years.

It actually causes me physical pain to know that Kharmadog was online in 2018. He should never have had to see the state of this place today.

Had the same feelings of nostalgia seeing Scythe, Botankus, Ya Krunk and Kharmadog's names.

Hell, even DebbieJo and her insane weirdness. Still not sure if she was legit or a clever made up personality.

Originally posted by Surtur
So when it comes to testable knowledge and understanding matters where do we rank in the world? Where did we rank 20 years ago?

Answer:

20 years ago: Below average

Now: Better than average