Re: Cheating on school tests ...

[Nick FitzGerald <nick () virus-l demon co uk>]

Rob Slade wrote:

> ... by teachers, not students: http://www.economist.com/node/18958685
>
> As a former school teacher, I'm depressed, but not really surprised.  This is a 
> predictable result of efforts by those who think that simple metrics will fix things.

...and more specifically, by such simepltons implementing an incredibly 
simplistic system to track such metrics, and in doing so, incentivizing 
exactly the kind of behaviour uncovered in this report.

"Improving" education (whatever you may take that to mean) is 
uncontestably an incredibly complex, multi-multi-facted, deeply nuanced 
process.  Simplistic chest-beating left-wing politicians sloganizing 
the kind of BS behind, inherent in and complicit with designed-to-fail 
stupidities such as "no child left behind" exposes the total inadequacy 
of those devising, promoting and implementing such "solutions" to even 
be allowed to be in a position to devise, promote or implement 
_anything_ that requires genuinely intelligent design.

That such egregiously ill-equipped folk were in such positions tells 
one a lot about the society in general in which this all happened...

> We, in security, should beware of equivalent simple, metric-based, fixes.

Of course we are -- such paragons of best practice as PCI DSS clearly 
attest to this...



Regards,

Nick FitzGerald


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