>> I thought they still pretty much do that. Granted real scientists don't
>> follow the steps with absolute rigor. They may form an idea of what they
>> think should happen, then test by experimentation, record their results,
>> then try to repeat the results, then have peers repeat the results.
>
> That happens in some classrooms, but it's not as widespread as it should
> be.
>
> And we wonder why US students "fail" at math&  science in the real world.

To be fair, while the US is legendary for stupidity, there are plenty of 
stupid people in other countries too. Visit any shop while the computers 
are down and watch the poor checkout girl struggle to compute £2.99 + 
£4.85. Watch, and sigh.

>> Definitely. Rote memorization teaches nothing, except how to memorize.
>
> Exactly, and primary school is supposed to (or should be) be about
> learning how to learn rather than how to memorize.

But testing whether you've memorised specific facts is way easier than 
testing whether you're actually stupid or not.

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