The power of Wisdom

[L Verge]

Speaking of the Power of Wisdom, it appears that our society is on its way to dumbing down again. Most of you probably heard or read about the changes in the SAT exam on today's news:

"The College Board said the redesign is a 'critical component' of its equity initiatives — and key to making the test better representative of high school curricula and undergraduate skills. Studies have found a strong correlation between family income level and test results.

A quick sampling of some of the marquee changes due to debut in the spring of 2016:

The exam will return to the 1600 scale. The exam has been scored on a 2400 scale since the last overhaul in 2005.
The essay section — added to the test in the 2005 upgrade — will now be optional and graded separately from the rest of the exam.
Administrators will make the test available in both print and digital forms.
The College Board won't deduct points for incorrect answers, a penalty that some critics have said discourages guessing. Students will now simply earn points for the answers they answer correctly.
Words used in the reading and writing sections "will no longer be vocabulary students may not have heard before and are likely not to hear again," according to a news release. Instead, the exam will 'focus on words that students will use consistently in college and beyond.'

The College Board also announced new criteria for the reading, writing and math sections."

I'm of the old school where essays are a great test for judging critical analysis of subject matter, correlations, etc. as well as written communication skills. Some of my worst test takers (while I was teaching) did better on essays than multiple choice.

Not having wrong answers count as wrong answers is another one of those Dr. Spock principles that teaches one not to worry about doing better or to take responsibility for doing things correctly.

And the "modern" language change reverts back to a 1960s trend of teaching "Street English." Now, we will be OMGing, LOLing, and LMAOing our way through life.

And that is my cynical response regarding our future for the day.