The fact that there are students with 4.0s and perfect SAT scores is proof that the education system is broken.

[Anonymous]

There are two different parts of your brain school requires you to use; one part is for math and science, while another is for English and history. The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.

Since K-12 and the SAT encompass both areas, 4.0s and perfect scores should be impossible. This means the quality of education in the world is very poor.

[Anonymous]

When I was in high school in the 80s, there was a guy who scored 1600 and 4.0. He was super crazy smart and went to MIT.
This would be Wakefield High School, the lowest ranked public high school

[Anonymous]

the lowest ranked public high school in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, OP.

At my kid's top high school there are only two known kids in the class who have 1600s. Of course they have sky high GPAs. Having both at the same time is rare, but it makes sense they go together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are two different parts of your brain school requires you to use; one part is for math and science, while another is for English and history. The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.

Since K-12 and the SAT encompass both areas, 4.0s and perfect scores should be impossible. This means the quality of education in the world is very poor.

This is like saying that if your left arm is strong your right must be weak so pull ups should be impossible.

[Anonymous]

Dumb people don't understand what it's like to be smart. Smart people can understand what it's like to be dumb if they take drugs or avoid sleep.

[Anonymous]

Standards are definitely too low these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two different parts of your brain school requires you to use; one part is for math and science, while another is for English and history. The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.

Since K-12 and the SAT encompass both areas, 4.0s and perfect scores should be impossible. This means the quality of education in the world is very poor.

This is like saying that if your left arm is strong your right must be weak so pull ups should be impossible.

+1. There's no reason that one area being strong means the other is weak. That's just not how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, OP.

At my kid's top high school there are only two known kids in the class who have 1600s. Of course they have sky high GPAs. Having both at the same time is rare, but it makes sense they go together.

That makes sense. There are a minority of students who excel at everything but it’s a tiny minority of kids. Most all A students are hard workers who show up everyday and do the work and spit it back for tests but how much is retained after memorizing it and how much is really understood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two different parts of your brain school requires you to use; one part is for math and science, while another is for English and history. The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.

Since K-12 and the SAT encompass both areas, 4.0s and perfect scores should be impossible. This means the quality of education in the world is very poor.

This is like saying that if your left arm is strong your right must be weak so pull ups should be impossible.

+1. There's no reason that one area being strong means the other is weak. That's just not how it works.

Maybe not but when people excel at a certain skill it’s because their brain has what it takes. Artists have better spatial intelligence than the non-artist. Scans of artists brains show that the artist group have more grey matter in the area of the brain called the precuneus in the parietal lobe.

[Anonymous]

SAT only has content up through Alg II. You don’t need to be a math savant to do very well. It’s very possible to do well on SAT math and English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAT only has content up through Alg II. You don’t need to be a math savant to do very well. It’s very possible to do well on SAT math and English.

Especially with the "new" SAT. It's much more possible to get a top score by just... studying and prepping for the test. The new verbal section, for example, has shorter passages (sentences an short paragraphs, really!) and cut out the tricky analogies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are two different parts of your brain school requires you to use; one part is for math and science, while another is for English and history. The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.

Since K-12 and the SAT encompass both areas, 4.0s and perfect scores should be impossible. This means the quality of education in the world is very poor.

Have you never met smart people before?

My husband is this, he went to MIT and he both has an incredible memory (for subjects like history) and incredible processing skills (for math and physics).

[Anonymous]

Disagree with your premise. One of my kids was near perfect and he just has a curiosity for things so he reads a lot of non fiction. And he likes the Instagram reels with tips and tricks for the SAT. I’m pretty sure that’s all it took for him. His English was the perfect score even though he’s more interested in math and science and will major in engineering.

He’s at a top private and doesn’t know anyone in his class with a perfect score.

As for perfect gpa, kids are smarter than we were. They have access to more information delivered on more platforms. He can listen to podcasts about US history forever, he could have probably scored a 5 on the AP class without taking the class. He can look up chemistry tutorials 24/7. When we hit a wall in high school chemistry, that was it. They can get information and move on.

[Anonymous]

“ The stronger one part is, the correspondingly weaker the other part is, and vice versa.”

Where did you come up with this? There is no neuroscience basis for this assertion.

While I do believe that both standardized testing and grading have been made easier, there really are some kids who excel. I went to a very competitive private school in the 90s that had loads of homework and very strenuous grading standards. Every year there would be 2-3 kids in a class of 70-75 who would earn 4.0s and score 1600s.