Something I'd like to see

[andrewducker]

A list of facts (or groupings of facts) learned in schools, and then a percentage, for each one, of how often they were used in the last year (by a large, varied, sample of the population).

Not that I think that teaching ought to be based entirely on utility, but if we could at least quantify that utility then we could look at the bits that aren't actually useful and start the argument over whether they're worthwhile on other bases (artistically/culturally worthy).

Comments

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

(And "not need" goes from the hardest stuff to the easiest stuff. I think stuff like "type i and type ii error" was taught in A-level stats, which not everyone did, but WOULD be useful to people if they did know it. Similarly, the ability to calculate 20% off was taught regularly since primary school, and is useful -- to people who still remember it.)