AI, Meritocracy, and Cheating Through the Lens of Three Educational SystemsAI didn't create educational problems—it exposed them. Insights from teaching across 3 countries on grade obsession, real learning, and fixing education.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Interesting perspective — would like to learn more about how you think AI affects democratic participation. Do you mean as a further evolution of Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” argument?
Did you ever read Jean Elshtain's "Democracy on Trial"? She was my mentor. She argued that democracy requires work, like any long-term relationship. But the work of democracy is recognizing each other as persons. Since AI flattens us into data, we end up seeing each other as a predictions rather than as persons.
Good work. I taught HS & MS for a long time. The methods you’re advocating are solid and should be the default response to the AI panic. Not holding my breath though. After seeing one in my first school shepherded successfully by dedicated, experienced colleagues I ‘went to bat’ for independent reading programs everywhere else I taught, but to no avail. After NCLB and ‘Race To The Top’ (the Arne Duncan / Obama slogan) enshrined test scores as the be-all/end-all they never had a chance. Which leads to the root cause of so many similar issues at the US K-12 level: the managerial mindset of the administrators who make the important decisions. But that’s a topic for another day, since this one’s not long enough…
Thanks for reading and commenting! Glad to hear this made sense to another educator. Not optimistic about the educational future of the country either but I hope that eventually there will be a pushback to swing the pendulum back towards these tried and true methods.
I think diplomas are just extra meaningless now as signal and we’re back in an age of relationship building for work. Hopefully we figure out UBI or something so this isn’t too horrible for the lower half of society
Thanks, I did not know the French system is resistant to grade inflation. I would love to learn more about whether this remains so, and whether French students have had any declines in their ability to read/write due to phones in the classroom.
thanks for reading! I don’t know but I can look into it. I would think that the system has been affected just like all education systems but due to how it’s structured it may be less vulnerable than others. Anecdotally, from younger friends who graduated from French schools more recently, grade inflation is still not a thing, or at least nothing compared to the US system.
In High-School, the system was changed a couple of years ago and it is no longer resistant to grade inflation. The French Baccalaureate (the end of high school exam mentioned in this article) now uses your grades throughout the year for 50% of the results (the other 50% being the end of year national exam). This sets clear incentives for grade inflation.
However our higher-ed system is still safe from grade inflation. Mostly because future employers do not look at grades when evaluating future employees, and access to top schools is mostly dependent on in-person national exams that one takes two years after finishing high-school. In a way it’s similar to the Gaokao except you can retake it the following year if you’re unhappy with the schools you got into. There’s more info here if you’re interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_%C3%A9cole?wprov=sfti1
I think phones in schools are a problem everywhere, or at least it hasn’t spared France.
Thanks a lot. I have respect for the seriousness with which the French take education, but my sources on that are random things I’ve read and I didn’t want to read too much into any one personal anecdote.
AI flattens people into data. That makes democratic virtues like charity and commitment very difficult.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Interesting perspective — would like to learn more about how you think AI affects democratic participation. Do you mean as a further evolution of Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” argument?
Did you ever read Jean Elshtain's "Democracy on Trial"? She was my mentor. She argued that democracy requires work, like any long-term relationship. But the work of democracy is recognizing each other as persons. Since AI flattens us into data, we end up seeing each other as a predictions rather than as persons.
Thought-provoking, I'll have to read her work!
I really like this approach. I've really started to dive into alternative grading for this very reason!
Awesome! Glad it was helpful. Let me know how it goes.
Good work. I taught HS & MS for a long time. The methods you’re advocating are solid and should be the default response to the AI panic. Not holding my breath though. After seeing one in my first school shepherded successfully by dedicated, experienced colleagues I ‘went to bat’ for independent reading programs everywhere else I taught, but to no avail. After NCLB and ‘Race To The Top’ (the Arne Duncan / Obama slogan) enshrined test scores as the be-all/end-all they never had a chance. Which leads to the root cause of so many similar issues at the US K-12 level: the managerial mindset of the administrators who make the important decisions. But that’s a topic for another day, since this one’s not long enough…
Thanks for reading and commenting! Glad to hear this made sense to another educator. Not optimistic about the educational future of the country either but I hope that eventually there will be a pushback to swing the pendulum back towards these tried and true methods.
I think diplomas are just extra meaningless now as signal and we’re back in an age of relationship building for work. Hopefully we figure out UBI or something so this isn’t too horrible for the lower half of society
yes we should think about education as a benefit to society beyond the signaling mechanisms. but that's easier said than done
https://x.com/iterintellectus/status/1922986617716809780?s=46 I liked this.
Thanks, I did not know the French system is resistant to grade inflation. I would love to learn more about whether this remains so, and whether French students have had any declines in their ability to read/write due to phones in the classroom.
thanks for reading! I don’t know but I can look into it. I would think that the system has been affected just like all education systems but due to how it’s structured it may be less vulnerable than others. Anecdotally, from younger friends who graduated from French schools more recently, grade inflation is still not a thing, or at least nothing compared to the US system.
In High-School, the system was changed a couple of years ago and it is no longer resistant to grade inflation. The French Baccalaureate (the end of high school exam mentioned in this article) now uses your grades throughout the year for 50% of the results (the other 50% being the end of year national exam). This sets clear incentives for grade inflation.
However our higher-ed system is still safe from grade inflation. Mostly because future employers do not look at grades when evaluating future employees, and access to top schools is mostly dependent on in-person national exams that one takes two years after finishing high-school. In a way it’s similar to the Gaokao except you can retake it the following year if you’re unhappy with the schools you got into. There’s more info here if you’re interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_%C3%A9cole?wprov=sfti1
I think phones in schools are a problem everywhere, or at least it hasn’t spared France.
Thanks a lot. I have respect for the seriousness with which the French take education, but my sources on that are random things I’ve read and I didn’t want to read too much into any one personal anecdote.