Public schools often struggle to teach children how to read and write. It was my direct experience that teachers generally can’t stop a reasonably clevel eight year old from cheating on a math test.
So sure, why not have them administer advanced psychological screening tests? I’m sure the results will be remarkably accurate and there’s no chance at all they’ll be misused.
Tomorrow I think I’ll have my car mechanic perform a bypass operation on my heart. Then I’ll ask my barber to design a nuclear reactor. That’ll go well too.
My own experience with public school screenings leaves me leery of putting anything in their hands. Rudimentary vision tests have been a part of the annual school dance for a long time. I flunked mine several times, but was always given the opportunity to retest, until I could get the right answer.
Very effective screening, don’t you agree? :dubious:
And after all, the computer-scored tests would only be used to highlight potentially troubled kids–the disposition of the situation would be determined by an actual psychologist.
I thought that was a* self-evident* concept. :dubious:
You do realize that computers only score what the people who program them tell them to score, right? So you’re recommending that standardized test companies (who would be hired to write these, because they are the ones who ALWAYS contract to design and market such instruments) create some psychological test for mass administration to all public school kids? This brings up a host of problems inherent in wholesale administration of tests, such as test bias against certain groups, test anxiety, and all the human error that comes with using such a blunt instrument to measure anything as fine and complex as the human mind.
No, you know what would be better than trying to fix this problem with a bullshit standardized test, would would probably create far more problems than it solves? Adults in authority playing attention to kids. Parents, teachers, counselors, whoever is in contact with them, noting odd and at-risk behaviors, taking them seriously, and intervening. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but there IS no quick fix to this.
Just to recap… the idea of screening kids en masse with a standardized test to find out who’s going to be a serial killer? A fucking stupid, destructive idea that I can’t believe anyone with the slightest amount of sense would even entertain, much less advocate.