As our politicians bemoan Australia’s sliding international ranking in standardised testing, calling for a back to basics direct instruction approach, they are ignoring the things that really matter.
In 2015, Australia placed first in the Global Creativity Index which ranked 139 nations worldwide on “three Ts” as measures of economic development – talent, technology, and tolerance.
The creative class, comprising more than forty percent of the workforce amongst advanced nations, includes scientists, technologists, artists, media workers as well as business and healthcare professionals.
Unlike traditional factors of production, creativity is “an infinitely renewable resource that can be continually replenished and deepened.”
As Australia’s economy transitions out of traditional structures to a more service-based economy, progress and innovation will “stem from diversity and openness to talented people across the board.”
The results found Australia to be a leader on talent, or human capital, which is a primary driver of economic growth along with technology.
While Australia did feature in the top ten for tolerance, other countries such as Canada and Iceland scored higher in this category suggesting there is room for improvement. The report says “places that are open to different kinds of people gain an edge in both attracting talent from across the spectrum and mobilizing new ideas.” In particular this involves openness to ethnic and religious minorities and openness to gay and lesbian people.
Countries that scored highly on the index were seen as having higher levels of productivity – as measured by economic output per person and GDP per capita – as well as competitiveness and overall human development.
There was a strong correlation between creativity and entrepreneurship with startup companies powering the rise of new industries.
South Korea places very highly in standardised test scores but they pay a very high price for it in societal collateral damage.
“To be a South Korean child ultimately is not about freedom, personal choice or happiness; it is about production, performance and obedience,” argued Yale academic See-Wong Koo.
The 2014 Youth Happiness Index found for instance that only 67.6% of Korean youth said they are satisfied with their life (OECD average is 85.8%), mostly because of study pressure.
South Korea has one of the highest rates of suicide (28.9%) in the OECD and ranks among the highest for household debt, depression, divorce, and alcohol consumption.
Companies are increasingly changing the criteria on which they hire people.
Google’s Senior Vice President of People Operations Laszlo Bock said they don’t even ask for GPA or test scores from candidates anymore.
“Academic environments are artificial environments. People who succeed there are sort of finely trained, they’re conditioned to succeed in that environment,” he says.
While in school, people are trained to give specific answers, “it’s much more interesting to solve problems where there isn’t an obvious answer,” Bock says. “You want people who like figuring out stuff where there is no obvious answer.”
Good grades indicate a certain level of intelligence and diligence; but maybe the wrong kind. The highest-value jobs don’t come with a ton of instructions. They require adaptation and learning on the job, rather than being told what to do.
“Companies want someone who thrives on challenge [and is] willing to learn something new,” Josh Bersin, the principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, a data-centric HR consultancy. “[They want] a seeker of information, willing to adapt. “
“Every HR person I talk to says that your passion and drive overcomes educational background and ability except for one thing,” Bersin said.
The one innate quality that is absolutely necessary for every job is “learning agility.” That’s the ability to pick things up quickly, to learn on the job, and to take initiative.
Over and over again, the people who perform best are the ones who don’t need to be told what to do, the ones that love challenges, seek information on their own, and quickly adapt.
People who follow instructions are mostly substitutable. Those who can be thrown into a new situation and thrive are truly valuable.
That is something that our kids are very good at as shown by their many successes in international competitions that require them to come up with new and creative ideas.
NAPLAN and PISA are not the be all and end all. In fact, slavish preoccupation with standardised test results is stultifying the attributes students need most to succeed – creativity, initiative, innovation, agility, teamwork and good communication skills.
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