Chapter Three: Global Achievement Gap

This chapter is titled Testing 123 and talks about testing here is the U.S. It starts off by giving us sample questions from the standard MCA's. I grew up in the Anoka School Districts and we were required to takes these tests. I believe we started testing in third grade. It was the worst week I hated tests after the first couple hours I began to just guess. I would assume I am not the only child who did that. One important thing I took away from this section is that many students struggle to pass these. That is an issue and that issue cannot be solved by more testing.

Another important piece of information I took away from this chapter is that applied skills is at the top of the list for important skills. Students today lack many of the necessary skills for math and science. These subjects are so crucial for learning because they allow you to not only solve a math problem but think critically about the many ways you can solve a problem. That is the same with science.

I thought it was cool when it talked about AP course and college. Many people think if you take AP courses you will be smarter in college. That is not always the case, in the chapter on page 93 it said, "taking any academically challenging course in high school with show an association with success in college."

Then the chapter moved on to talk about Citizenship Readiness. Do students that we send out into the real world really have the ability to be an important part of the community? Do they have the skills it takes to vote for who will make the better changes, or be on jury duty? If students are not learning critical thinking skills or how to accurately judge a situation how would you feel if they were a jury member on your case? All these questions made me think about myself, if I have these abilities or not. The seven survival skills are just as important for citizenship as they are for work.

There was a quote I took from page 111 that I found very interesting and my favorite part of this chapter. It says. "In todays world, it's no longer how much you know that matters; it's what you can do with what you know." I think that quote is pretty self explanatory. :)