American Intelligence Test #10: An Object Lesson About Teachers

Nothing could be more relevant and ironic as the subject of an American Intelligence Test than teachers and their compensation. But as humorous as this idea may seem, it has the potential to be more illuminating than the copious and era-spanning public and political debates about performance/merit-based teachers’ compensation. The performance issue has risen to a top spot in our politicians’ cesspool of ideas, spurred especially by the budget cutting battles occurring between teachers’ unions (and other public sector jobs) and state governors/legislators. So let’s get a sense of what you know about the cost of public education and how to get the best education for American children.


After you complete the questions you will find my answers listed; these are of course are implicitly correct. Your own score, I suspect, you will hold to be correct; and it’s your responsibility to assess that logical assertion. Remember: a willingness to deceive yourself, as to the correctness of your answers or beliefs, is just another measure of the actual intelligence level being measured. To paraphrase Lincoln:

Some of us can fool ourselves all of the time, and all of us can fool ourselves some of the time, but all of us can not fool ourselves all of the time.

Gird yourself for the test; the opportunity to fail awaits you.

Question 1: Classroom performance in national tests have stayed more or less the same or shown some slight declines over the last 40 years.

True   False

Question 2: Over the last 40 years, teachers’ pay has more than doubled.

True   False

Question 3: If the answers to Q-1 and Q-2 were both to be true, then increasing pay has not caused any increase in teachers’ performance?

True   False   Both   Neither

Question 4: Improving the education system in the US is hampered the most by:

A. Politicians
B. Teachers’ unions
C. Political Parties
D. Voters (the public)
E. All of the Above

Question 5: Teacher Pay for Performance would increase the educational value provided to the nation’s children.

True   False   Both   Neither

The Critical Question ‘X’: Who has presented a viable plan for solving our educational systems’ problems that would equip America’s youth with a competitive education?

A. Politicians
B. Teachers’ unions
C. Federal Department of Education
D. States’ Departments of Education
E. Special Interest groups/lobbyist
F. No one

Pencils down! Test over. So how did you do, or which part of Lincoln’s observation did you place yourself in?

Oh yes, here are my answers.

Q1: True All things being equal, we seem to be where we have been for a while.

Q2: True And benefits costs have risen too.

Q3: Neither You’ve probably heard this in Math class somewhere along the line: “you can’t compare apples and oranges”. You have to ask yourself: is this an inflation adjusted statement, and if everything else is unimportant.

Q4: D Our failure results from our collective expectation that ‘wanting it’ is the same thing as ‘getting it’. All the other players, while major contributors to the failure, are simply extremely incompetent at confronting this task.

Q5: Neither It may be one possible outcome, but it is not the only outcome that could result from being implemented. And what if the performance we want/need costs more not less; will you support that?

QX: F The public debate focuses on protester sign issues and answers; not on what America wants its educational goals to be, and what America is required to be responsible for to achieve them.

So let’s all keep running down the road with sharp scissors and our eyes closed because that always works out well for everyone.