Thread

1. dumberquestions · 1790438138 · focus · HN ↗

   The drop from 2018 to 2022 is as big as the one from 2022 to 2026, so it's not obvious whether AI had a role at all, although it's highly plausible.

   I suspect the bigger culprit is the optimized monetization of human attention, because pre-algorithmic social media doesn't seem to be as destructive. The fact that science wasn't as affected as math and reading (both of which rely more on attention/practice than rote memorization) somewhat supports this.

   1. asutekku · 1790438350 · focus · HN ↗

      Between 2018 and 2022, we saw the widespread adoption of social media and the rapid digitalization of education. Focusing on these key shifts, it seems clear to me that any kind of electronic learning has had a negative impact on education :p

      1. AlienRobot · 1790438964 · focus · HN ↗

         Another modern problem with education is that every student has a smartphone now, which they bring to the class, then they get distracted by it.

         1. runarberg · 1790451340 · focus · HN ↗

            Maybe more and more teachers care less and less about training students to take tests, and care more about actually educating students in the subject matter. So maybe the plunging test scores are are simple as “students are worse at taking tests.”

            1. procaryote · 1790507047 · focus · HN ↗

               so your take on declining test scores is that it means people are learning more?

               1. runarberg · 1790515793 · focus · HN ↗

                  No. My take is that test scores are a lousy measure of education. Maybe students are indeed learning less, and that would be worrying, but while we measure that using test score we simply cannot control for test taking ability.

                  1. procaryote · 1790520090 · focus · HN ↗

                     what would be a better repeatable measure of education?

                     1. runarberg · 1790606169 · focus · HN ↗

                        I am not a teacher, nor even an expert in the pedagogical sciences, as a layperson I can point out what looks wrong, but I need not know what is better.

                        Maybe asking teachers is better. Maybe a robust metric across generations and across population simply does not exist, and cannot exist, and we just have to accept that we cannot compare the education of kids in America today with the education of kids in Guatemala a decade ago.

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