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Re: Testing job applicants
On Sun, 12 Sep 1999 05:52:05 GMT, phil@ricochet.net (phil) wrote:
>On Fri, 10 Sep 1999 19:26:35 GMT, z80@ds1.com (Peter) wrote:
[big snip]
>>But look on the bright side: the UK has a very long way to go with
>>adult illiteracy to match the USA.
>
>The US is fucked because of the S.A.T. It's only a matter of time
>before the UK adopts it as well.
>
>phil.
Historical perspective helps here: most European countries have
been running educational systems for centuries, and AFAIK most
countries, other than the US, grade all students on all academic
subjects taken, with certain requirements for "graduation"
certificates, similar to university.
Others with more widespread experience can add facts here.
My understanding, from my kids, is that US graduation is based on
SAT scores which measure only basic English and math ability, and
that a "perfect" 800? score does not mean much.
I think it much more likely that the US will move to the subject
score model, especially as the International Baccalaureate (IB)
programs seem to be the only standards acceptable for attending
university in other countries.
Also, only in the US AFAIK, is high school graduation considered
an achievement.
In Canada, where I now live, graduation from high school gives
rise to ceremony of a nature akin to the US hoopla, but more
muted, and not taken to be any great achievement.
In Scotland, where I was educated, it was certainly considered
only a small stepping stone on the path, and myself and most
people I knew were working at summer jobs before the ceremony
took place, so did not attend.
OTOH, the US is a large marketplace, with a large enough
population to be able to ignore educational standards elsewhere,
as long as parts of that system do a good enough, job to generate
enough educated people to keep the economy going, or the economy
attracts enough people to make up for the domestic shortfall.
Look at the number of immigrants coming in now on H1B visas.
That suggests that domestic education is insufficient to meet
demands, and other countries can meet the standards requirements.
Eventually, both the statistics or the economics are going to
fail, educated Americans will start emigrating, immigration will
decline, and the US will be forced to upgrade its educational
priorities and standards so Americans will be able to meet the
domestic demand as well as compete in the global market.
Look at the "brain drain" that occurred from the UK in the 60s,
and the number of highly educated and experienced Canadians going
south these days is shocking. Doctors and computer techies are
leaving in droves -- good DBAs and sys admins are in short supply
here -- because the economy is too weak to support high enough
rates to match supply with demand, unlike the situation in the
US. William Morris Agencies might want to think about setting up
branches to deal with doctors and other technical professionals
as skill shortages become more pronounced and rates go higher.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Thanks. Take care, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada
--
Brian_Inglis@CSi.com (Brian dot Inglis at SystematicSw dot ab dot ca)
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