[jluetjen]

This thread confirmed for me a few things...

1) Most people don't understand squat about statistics
2) A lot of education is political
3) School (like many things in life) is what you make of it
4) Kids learn from what they see their parents say and do

OK, of course half of the students will be "below average" as was stated earlier! Anyone who doesn't get that, or is shocked by it apparently didn't get a good education in math. The trick is to focus attention on improving the performance of the bottom half of the distribution, which is the most effective way to shift the entire distribution to a higher level of performance.

Good or bad, educational decisions are made politically. That's life. Much of education is thankfully clear cut (2+2=4), but much is not and may never be (2+2*4=???) without some sort of understanding of what the agreed upon rules are going to be. That's what politics does in our society.

But at the end of the day, School like most things is life is what you make of it. There are some great public schools, and some incompitent school districts. There are some great private schools, and some hopelessly eletist schools turning out twits. There will be good kids who find themselves mis-cast into the wrong programs, or in bad situations, and some gems who seem to thrive no matter what sort of situations they find themselves. There will be other kids who have all of the right things taught to them, but still end up winning a darwin award or starting world war III.

Which brings me to us (in many cases) parents. It's really our job to see that our kid is well equiped for life, by taking advantage of what society has to offer. If our kids see us cheating, wasting time and resources, slacking off, treating other badly, etc. etc. etc., they will most likely end up doing the same no matter what school system they wind up in. But if we teach them, and show them how to respect and help others, try their best, be thoughtful and prepare diligently, chances are they'll be fine -- no matter what sort of educational situation they happen to find themselves in.