Ken Robinson |

Bell rings. Start working. Bell rings. Stop working.

Is this a scene from a factory or from a public school? The modern school system may have its roots in the Industrial Age school system but does not mean that the old-fashioned mentality of manufacturing lines has to continue into the 21^st century. However, some proponents of standardized testing want to do just that.

Norman Augustine wrote an article for the Washington Post that argues that the key to education reform is raising standards on standardized testing. He believes that teaching to the test is the entire point of education. You cannot improve on something unless you know where you stand. However, what Augustine fails to grasp is that standardized testing is not a good indicator of what it takes to be successful in the modern age as proven by Sir Ken Robinson. Educators should encourage students to be innovative and look for more than one answer to a problem. Robinson calls this approach to education “divergent thinking” and deems it essential for success in the 21^st century.

As a former CEO, Augustine says he uses his business background to evaluate the success of America’s educational system and only sees the United States falling down on test scores as compared to other industrial nations. However, he needs to look beyond just the numbers. Robinson argues that teaching students to conform in a world that rewards distinction puts them at a disadvantaged compared to the rest of the world. A student’s future ability should not be measure by how many facts and strategies they can regurgitate on standardized tests. Therefore, it follows that the focus should not be on reforming these tests as Augustine suggests, but on restructuring America’s approach to education. Children are not like cars and at the end of the day you cannot run a series of test to see whether they are ready to step off the assembly line and function in the real world.

See Sir Ken Robinson’s full theory on changing education and follow his awesome graphics