American Students Today Up Their Own Backsides?

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20756247

Does confidence really breed success?

Research suggests that more and more American university students think they are something special. High self-esteem is generally regarded as a good thing - but could too much of it actually make you less successful?

About nine million young people have filled out the American Freshman Survey, since it began in 1966.

It asks students to rate how they measure up to their peers in a number of basic skills areas - and over the last four decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of students who describe themselves as being "above average" for academic ability, drive to achieve, mathematical ability and self-confidence.

This was revealed in a new analysis of the survey data, by US psychologist Jean Twenge and colleagues.

Self-appraisals of traits that are less individualistic - such as co-operativeness, understanding others and spirituality - saw little change, or a decrease, over the same period.

Twenge adds that while the Freshman Survey shows that students are increasingly likely to label themselves as gifted in writing ability, objective test scores indicate that actual writing ability has gone down since the 1960s.

And while in the late 1980s, almost half of students said they studied for six or more hours a week, the figure was little over a third by 2009 - a fact that sits rather oddly, given there has been a rise in students' self-proclaimed drive to succeed during the same period.

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[FBM]

That's because they're all unique and precious snowflakes, and they all get a little gold star sticker, no matter who got the high score.

[pErvinalia]

They've got a VERY big fall coming. Especially if the US economy and social conditions continue to falter.

[odysseus]

That's because they're all unique and precious snowflakes, and they all get a little gold star sticker, no matter who got the high score.

Sounds like the British education system. All must have prizes....

[Audley Strange]

Yep.

When they used to say "failure was not an option" I don't think they meant let everyone win no matter how shit they are hooray!! I do get a nice tickle of schadenfreude though when the horror of reality and brutal honesty bursts their delusions.

[Bella Fortuna]

Not exactly a strictly American phenomenon...

[Tyrannical]

I suppose if everyone was perfectly honest and perfectly able to asses their own ability you should have 50% across the board since you are judging yourself versus your peers.

Shame they didn't break this study down demographically.

[pErvinalia]

yeah, I bet blacks are worse, hey tyrannical?

[JimC]

That's why I like the straightforward reality of a maths test.

You answered 40% of the questions correctly. You have not mastered this area of maths. Study, and try again.

[Jason]

Not exactly a strictly American phenomenon...

Yep. Canadian Uni students are by and large, to put it in technical terms, complete fuckwits. The ratio of non-fuckwit to fuckwit has to be something like one in eight.

[laklak]

Watching them move back into Mom and Dad's basement after getting their Fine Arts Degree is eminently lulzworthy. Around here the Micky D clerk says "Would you care for some pommes frites with your order, sir?"

[FBM]

The situation over here is somewhat different. A kid who isn't ready for partial differential equations by the time he starts his freshman year in university is a loser and knows it.

[SteveB]

Not exactly a strictly American phenomenon...

Yep. Canadian Uni students are by and large, to put it in technical terms, complete fuckwits. The ratio of non-fuckwit to fuckwit has to be something like one in eight.

I don't like dem odds.