{"id":6641,"date":"2015-09-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/whats-more-important-high-test-scores-or-self-direction\/"},"modified":"2020-02-27T14:45:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:45:28","slug":"whats-more-important-high-test-scores-or-self-direction","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/whats-more-important-high-test-scores-or-self-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s More Important, High Test Scores or Self-Direction?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChildThis post originally appeared at Getting Smart<\/a> on August 17, 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n

The education technology discussion is fraught with false dichotomies. One that I find particularly troubling is the false choice between improving test scores and preparing for life and work in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

The argument on one side is that the United States is falling behind other countries with evidence offered such as our 30th place showing in math on the PISA test. In order to be competitive, we need to increase our scores on such international benchmarks. To achieve this we should:<\/p>\n