[liquidpele]

Ungameable… lol. Take a look at Asian countries for what happens when you rely only on grades… cheating becomes the norm since numbers are all that matter.

[DiogenesKynikos]

Cheating is not the norm in Asian countries.

The real downside is that school is insanely competitive, students study incredibly long hours, and they feel intense pressure to perform well on their exams.

The upside is that the students are much more serious about their studies than in the US, in general.

[gopher_space]

Forced to TA students like this in the US, both foreign and domestic, I'd say the real downside is that this produces incredibly brittle individuals. "Failure isn't an option" is not an attitude compatible with pushing your own boundaries or even just life in general.

[corimaith]

But social mobility for serious kids is much easier in the United States than elsewhere. It's also in USA that going to your local state university or community college isn't a large barrier to your future career, and transfers are common.

And when it comes to the levers of power, connections are still what defines future leaders in Asia, not grades. This entire idea of "serious students" are ultimately just a bone to throw to the masses.

[adastra22]

Doing an SAT prep course is cheating, fyi. These tests were meant to be a fair assessment and that required not teaching to or training for the test. That, of course, went out the window, but when I was in high school there was at least lip service to it and statements from administrators that we shouldn’t be taking SAT prep courses. We were instructed to take the official prep exam to know the format, but otherwise go in blind.

My wife is Asian (born there) and when I told her and her family this they were literally speechless.

[tjs8rj]

And yet the innovation density is lower