To the Editor:
The ongoing problem with education research could not have been more starkly delineated in the July 18, 2012, edition.
An article on the front page, “Study: Children Now Are More Imaginative,” notes that “Case Western researchers found that across 14 studies spanning 23 years, children showed no difference in the organization or emotional engagement of their play or storytelling. But there was a marked increase ... in the quality of imagination they displayed.”
On the back page of the same issue, in contrast, Yong Zhao’s Commentary, “Doublethink: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Standardized Tests,” references research by Kyung Hee Kim that “analyzed performance of adults and children on a commonly used creativity measure known as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. The results indicate a creativity decrease in the last 20 years in all categories.”
My question is, how can both of these studies truly reflect reality?
Randal Jones
Houston,Texas
The writer is a multilingual specialist in the Houston school district.
