As Global Number of Pupils Soars, Education Falls Behind

New York Times ^ | May 12, 2015 | Eduardo Porter

[reaganaut1]

A quarter of a century ago, barely half the children of primary school age in sub-Saharan Africa were enrolled in school. By 2012 the share was 78 percent. In South Asia, primary school enrollment jumped to 94 percent from 75 percent over the same period.

This didn’t happen by chance. Policy makers around the world have come to understand the importance of learning for every aspect of human development. Universal primary education was one of the United Nations’ core Millennium Development Goals, which mobilized large amounts of aid in the first decade of the century for poor countries to expand access.

Despite this phenomenal advance, however, a peek under the headline statistics suggests that much of the world has, in fact, progressed little. If the challenge was to provide a minimum standard of education for all, what looks like an enormous improvement too often amounted to a stunning failure.

“We’ve made substantial progress around the globe in sending people to school,” said Eric Hanushek, an expert on the economics of education at Stanford University. “But a large number of people who have gone to school haven’t learned anything.”

Can the world do better? Experts and diplomats have been working for two years to create a set of Sustainable Development Goals to succeed the previous millennium goals in guiding development strategy and steering international aid over the next 15 years. The targets are expected to be formally adopted by the United Nations in September.

An educated population is a critical precondition for broadly shared prosperity — an essential tool for nations seeking a role in the global production chains driving economic growth around the world. But simply pursuing “universal education” will not get us there. It cannot do the job alone.

[reaganaut1]

The Bell Curve strikes again.

Education is a multiplier of intelligence, and when intelligence is lacking it does not do much good. Someone with an IQ of 85 can benefit from going through elementary school, with an IQ of 100 from going to high school, and 115 from going to college.

[Tax-chick]

“We’ve made substantial progress around the globe in sending people to school,” said Eric Hanushek, an expert on the economics of education at Stanford University. “But a large number of people who have gone to school haven’t learned anything.”

I guarantee that spending much, much more money on education, and especially on experts in the economics of education, will produce much more impressive results!

[MNDude]

Don’t people have basically the same IQ’s everywhere?

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

No.

[reaganaut1]

Don’t people have basically the same IQ’s everywhere?

No -- you could read Richard Lynn.

[knarf]

What I see are (in the US) gov indoctrination centers INTENT on eliminating education and replacing it with social engineering.

High schoolers are graduated with next to nothing of an understanding of the USA, our history, how to vote ... they don't even know if they are democraT or republican ....

And the ones you meet at the cash register will tell you (if you ask) .. "I don't vote"

The blue collar graduates (if they DO get a good job) will tell you they're too busy

girls don't know how to cook because there is no real home ec and the ones that go off to college spend the first year in remedial reading and english .... while getting drunk

IF, in the first three grades, we'd concentrate ONLY on alphabet, phonics, reading and basic English ... and FORGET all the green crap .... our kids would have a blast enjoyng a real education ... if, of course there were TEACHERS and not successful job applicants.

Thank you Christa McAuliffe ..

SOME of us are trying to continue your legacy

[Shadow44]

No, but IQ is not entirely rigid.

In the United States there has been an steady increase in the average in the 20th century.

Blacks tend to score below average, while Asians above average. The Bell Curve mentions this and talking about it elicits a lot of racism accusations.

[Jack Hammer]

Nevermind “world” education; the question is, why does education right here in America stink so badly?

[MNDude]

What’s considered average? How many iq points are we talking here?

[combat_boots]

Ashkenazi Jews
East Asians
Asians
Whites

Or Whites may switch with Asians above.

Routinely test as most intelligent

Highest/lowest countries’ intelligence measures
http://www.statisticbrain.com/countries-with-the-highest-lowest-average-iq/

“(intelligence quotient tests) have shown a large measurement of differences between racial groups. Average scores of Blacks being lower than Asian Americans which score higher than Whites. While gaps in IQ scores between races is well documented there is not much agreement among researchers for why that is.”
https://socialtaboos.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/race-iq-test/

[tbw2]

In much of Africa, it can be argued that from the burden of intestinal parasites and malaria, the nutrients literally consumed by pathogens hurt brain development across the board - causing 10-20 point reductions in AVERAGE IQ.

In much of the Middle East, where over half the population marries a paternal cousin, inbreeding depression lowers overall IQ, plus malnutrition for girls because the food is preferentially given to boys.

In the parts of Asia where malnutrition is bad enough to have several million kids go blind from lack of vitamin A, insufficient micronutrients and protein also crimps brain development.

It is estimated that if everyone got a good multivitamin, sufficient iodine, anti-malaria drugs and deworming every month, the average IQ in much of Africa and Asia would go up 10-15 points.

Whether this is enough to raise the African IQ to the Western average isn’t certain, but it would certainly close the gap.

But no amount of schooling will turn a kid left brain damaged by five bouts of malaria into a genius.

[MNDude]

Wow! Now I almost feel guilty for Scam Baiting those Nigerian princes. No wonder it was so easy!

[GOPJ]

Africans can’t feed themselves - or create a sane society... but they do know how to make wars, bombs, and guilt trips that con the UN into giving them more money.

Whatever we’re spending over there is not working. It’s not working any more than the millions we spend in ‘education’ for Baltimore. It’s time to put some thought into how we ‘help’ people. And less thought into ‘how we feel about ourselves for being so liberally wonderful’... Cause it ain’t working...

[GOPJ]

Africans can’t feed themselves - or create a sane society... but they do know how to make wars, bombs, and guilt trips that con the UN into giving them more money.

Whatever we’re spending over there is not working. It’s not working any more than the millions we spend in ‘education’ for Baltimore. It’s time to put some thought into how we ‘help’ people. And less thought into ‘how we feel about ourselves for being so liberally wonderful’... Cause it ain’t working... Right Eduardo Porter ?

[Shadow44]

The average is 100, with standard deviations in both directions indicating deficiency or giftedness.

As previously stated, some people argue that the gap is because of environmental problems in the upbringing of children, and others make the controversial statement that it is simply inherent.

[KosmicKitty]

‘m sure the little girls being sold in slavery by ISIS will benefit rom an education.