Category Archives: Meritocracy, Testing, and Special Education

This chapter was very interesting because of its discussion of meritocracy. The idea that a person should progress due to their ability and not their political and economic influence goes farther than just the schools. At work merit systems allow people to work their way up the ladder but many times a person’s influence will also have an effect. It is hard to tell if teachers are not swayed by influences which have nothing to do with the students ability in the classroom. Of course, this may sound like something very cliche but it probably exists. There are probably several teachers who have passed a student who they know have not performed to even the minimum levels required. I like seeing how the schools borrowed a lot of ideas from the workplace a big step in preparing the students of America for the future. Although the text discusses this idea of separate but equal education it is common knowledge that the idea was only half true, things were separate but they were far from equal. The wealthy students were at the advantage from the start as they got the better teachers, better facilities and best books while the poorest communities had second rate teachers, facilities and books. The idea of sterilization is just preplexing to me because it goes against everything we are made to believe about America. Even to this day we face some of those problems and I am not sure that we will ever be able to fix them.

In Chapter 10, Carl Birgham is known for his racial theories in 1923.He then developed the Scholastic Aptitude Test, also known as the SAT.This “was destined to dominate the field of college entrance examinations.” Till this day, students are required to take the SATs, pass it, in order to get into an exceptional college,of their choice.In contemporary education,the test creators are putting a spin on the content of the test.If they lack the information, test creators feel is beneficial for their grades or they should have common knowledge in, How would this affect the results each student receives?How can we determine,who was prepared for the examination?or who just took the test with no intentions of passing?Take a look at this article.

Although we feel, sometimes, standardized test or test preparation should not be the core curriculum to our everyday academic schedule,some individuals beg to differ.I do think its beneficial, for any age group, to be presented with information on upcoming exams,as well as information they can use outside of the classroom.However, in younger ages, the main source of learning is from the parents.This article gives a great description as to what happens, if the expectation of schooling for children by parents,turn in the wrong direction.

I present these articles because I am interested in the current events in our Education system,nowadays.Being an employee at an CUNY Community College, I usually assist students with registration for upcoming semesters.It is usually a hassle finding placements for M2 classes.If your unfamiliar with the class it is the remedial Mathematics course in college.Many of the students in this college have to take M2 courses, to continue taking college level Math courses.You will see in the article, funds have been put toward improving remedial courses at community colleges.If these test determine the ability of CUNY students, I ask you,What exactly is the problem? CUNY community colleges, are diverse communities of students ranging in age.Some are fresh out of high school and some are more elder, that’s where the problem lies.Preparation, more than just a few links on the CUNY website is necessary for students to prepare for college entrance exams and to begin classes on a college level,both English and math.However,I am a firm believer of Self-Improvement, so I ask myself are students taking these preparatory information for granted?Are these tests portraying accurate findings of the students who enter the CUNY system?

By the end of the nineteenth century, most educational reforms were about trying to make “separate but equal” schools for rich and poor work well. The results of these efforts have been discouraging. New schools and institutions looked at ways to integrate public school by economic status through public school choice. At the higher education level, they examined ways to open the doors of selective and non-selective institutions to students of modest means that prepared students for their professions. Issues like meritocracy, the reduction of public control, and the development of standardized tests were of a major concern in this chapter.

Meritocracy was established in schools as a social system that gave opportunities and advantages to people on the basis of their abilities and merit rather than their economic wealth or power. One of the issues with this concept was that once a person is put into their position due to their merit, then wouldn’t there still be some sort of confining wall separating people due to the higher or lower status the person holds. This is similar to the ideology behind standardized tests where students are all given the same test bearing in mind that all the students are getting the same quality education. The problem is that there are multiple reasons as to why a student doesn’t do well on a standardized test including the fact that not all instructors are good teachers and that not all students are great test takers. So here we have the notion of meritocracy and standardized tests still socially confining people in society. Is it possible for people to have equal opportunities? Or has our previous problems in history produced by inequality continue to affect us forever?

There is such a heavy, yet unnecessary, emphasis on tests in school systems today. There is no point in creating a curriculum that caters to test questions because it is not real learning. If teachers just taught for children to pass tests, then the entire school system is useless. We should be teaching children to look forward to other things rather than passing the regents, the SATs, or any other important tests. To have children, teachers, and schools ridiculed over test scores is not realistic at all. Students could just be really bad test takers, but to have the burden of passing the test on their backs, just makes it that much harder for them to focus on school work. In high school, I was a straight A student, but my SAT scores were really low. In some cases, children can be good test takers and bad participants in school, but in the end, they’ll get praised because test scores is the only thing that matters. Despite disagreeing with the amount of weight put on tests, there seems to be no better way to screen children and schools to see if they’re on the right track.

The idea of eugenics and sterilization is extremely bizarre. It’s the same as categorizing people into adequate and inadequate groups, but who’s is to say if a person’s capabilities are worthy or not? Just because a student has a mental illness, it does not mean that they are dumb or stupid, and it is certainly far-fetched to try to contain levels of mentally-ill children from being born. Students with learning disabilities need more patience and attention, not neglect. They will learn at their own pace, and it may not be the same as the average child, but to try to “improve the level of intelligence of the American population.. by making it impossible for those with low levels of intelligence to have children” is extremely insensitive and unreasonable (286). Like the book says eugenics is similar to Nazi’s and their creation of the “super race”. American school systems are always trying to categorize students so that they can improve learning, but is that really working? I find that when you separate children and put them into learner groups, they tend to fail more because it will be obvious to them who is the smarter group and who is the failing group.

Ultimately, a reason that the American school system seems to be failing is because learning is geared towards the wrong purpose. To teach children strictly material on tests is useless and a waste of time. Academics should be taught in a way that can be applied to the real world, not just tests. So what changes should be made in the school systems so that students could learn realistically? And what kind of programs can be provided to ensure that?

Based on the chapter, I agreed with the push for meritocracy in the school system. I think it is extremely important for individuals, especially for school administrators, to be assigned responsibilities based upon their merits, skills and qualifications. I think this should apply for all occupations. Individuals should be able to progress and move up in any occupation based on what they bring to the table and the particular skills they possess. I agree that schools should be kept out of politics and in the hands of experts. It is a terrible thing to see the educational future and well being of our children being used as a political tool and suffer from the hostile political environment. However, public education will always play a role in politics, as important issues such as funding are dealt with through public policy and political discourse. This is often why the public education system suffers through changes in the political environment.

When it comes to the issue of relinquishing public control of schools, I am still a bit uncertain. I understand the concerns of having businesspeople taking up positions as school administrators and as school board members. However, I am not completely opposed to this. I think that many of the skills and qualifications that allow for these individuals to be successful in the business world would also allow for success in the school system. An example of this would be the current NYC school chancellor Cathy Black. Many people argue that she is not qualified to be in charge of the school system as she has no prior experience in education. While she may not have that particular experience, she does possess the most important skill that is needed of a chancellor of the school system, which is leadership. She has had the leadership experience in the business/private sector and she was quite successful. To claim that someone of her intelligence and success could not manage or be a good leader in a particular position based only on experience is quite unfair in my opinion. I also believe that the application of many business practices will help solve many of the bureaucratic inefficiencies that currently plague our school system.

Will/do public schools, particularly in NYC, benefit from incorporating business practices in their operations? Is this a good way of correcting/changing the current bureaucracy of our school system?

Chapter 10 covered a lot in terms of equal opportunity and the structure of the school system. I found the part about mentally retarded people and the idea of sterilization quite shocking. I suppose I can understand the reasoning behind it, but it is just upsetting that people think that way. I remember from my time in High School there was a mentally retarded kid named Richard in my class. He was not only nice, but also participated more than the average kid. He never disrupted the class either. From my own experience with him I would have to say that the whole concept of sterilization is ridiculous, because he managed school just fine, and even attends community college now. I understand Richard is just one man, but to me he was representative of people like himself, and he was in the back of my mind throughout reading the chapter.  I was wondering based on Richard’s story and the chapter: Do you think there should be assistance for kids with mental disabilities in each class, or should there be separate programs for those in need? Should it be up to the parents to choose which course to take, or the schools? Is there any factors that would change you opinion, such as how many students in the class, or location of the school…

Another thing which I thought about while reading this section of the book is our discussion from class we had the other week regarding Mayor Bloomberg appointing some woman, I believe her name was Cathy Black, as the head of New York City school’s. She is basically a symbol for what this chapter talked about in terms of treating schools as businesses to be run and organized. I myself am not opposed to this idea—especially in NYC. The school system is so large that at the top there is bound to be a disconnect between students and organization. This should be handled as such, however I do not think that the students should be treated as objects or pawns, so small in the system that they do not matter. This is where standardized testing places them—which I am not in favor of. Tests such as the SAT and ACT are the fatal flaw in the school system which make for too much control by numbers and disconnected officials.  However, Do you think that the business approach would be successful if not for these exams? If it were not for things such as this I think that a business like approach would be doable. These tests and other approaches to make intelligence and performance quantifiable ruin it though.

Chapter 10 focused on the school administrators’ hope that the provision of equal opportunity would become a function of scientific management and measurement in the educational institution. The chapter focused on the notion of of meritocracy which was basically saying that each individuals social  and occupational position is determined by individual merit rather than political or economic influence. One thing i found interesting was this reducing of public control where we seen the control of the school systems in earlier chapters. Another aspect of this chapter was the standardized testing movement which was an essential part of the development of vociational guidence which we read about in the previous chapter.  A high emphasis is still placed on tests today such as regents, SATS, and ACT’s. I did great in my classes but was not comfortable with these tests.

Would the idea of of scientific management work in our school systems today to some degree ?

Is there a way our school systems can eliminate or place a lower emphasis on the tests such as the ACT and SAT ?