Systems For Success

systems for success

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railway comparison

educational comparison

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The UK railway system is designed to optimize cost and speed. Trains and train companies mostly fail to deliver satisfactory performance.

In comparison,. the railway system in many countries is designed to optimize reliability. Trains and train companies generally deliver satisfactory performance.

The UK education system is designed to push students through increasingly difficult tests, until they cannot go any further. Everyone fails. Even students with outstanding results feel as if they have not achieved enough.

This is not the only way to design an educational system.

catalog of fallacy

railway systems

veryard projects > education > systems4success > railway systems

Here is a simplified picture of problems with the UK railway system. It may well be an exaggerated cariacature. However, my motivation for drawing this picture is that I believe that the design of the UK railway system betrays an attitude towards system design that can also be detected in the design of education systems.

	The UK railway system is driven by cost and speed, as if passengers care more about speed than reliability.
	A railway company once got a train from London to York in under two hours. If something is sometimes possible then it becomes a universal target or standard. So the timetable is constructed on the assumption that all trains should be able to get from London to York in under two hours.
	A large proportion of trains (and train companies) now fail to achieve their targets. Train companies employ clever accountants to fudge the measurements. Network management operates outside the planning assumptions most of the time - and so network management also fails to achieve its targets.
	Meanwhile railway systems in other countries are designed quite differently.
	For example, it is known that trains can always get from Hamburg to Munich in less than five hours, unless there is a serious emergency. If something is nearly always possible then it may become a universal target or standard. So the timetable is constructed with the assumption that all trains should be able to get from Hamburg to Munich in under five hours.
	A large proportion of trains now achieve their targets. Network management assumptions are valid most of the time, and so the network also achieves its targets.
	Put very crudely, the UK system is designed for failure, while the German system is designed for success.

education systems

veryard projects > education > systems4success > education systems

Some of the design flaws in the UK railway system can also be detected in the UK education system. I am concerned about the rumour that some other countries may be considering copying the UK system.

	The UK education system is driven by short-term test results, as if this provided a good indicator of the long-term quality of education.
	Some children can learn to read at the age of four. If something is sometimes possible then it becomes a universal target or standard. So the school curriculum is constructed on the assumption that all children should start to read at the age of four.
	A large proportion of children (and primary schools) now fail to achieve their targets. It is possible that some children may be driven into dyslexia by being forced to read before they are ready. Schools are required to divert a greater proportion of time and resources into "literacy". Well-resourced schools adopt selection mechanisms to preserve their scores.
	Meanwhile education systems in many other countries are designed quite differently.
	With the exception of seriously handicapped children, and with appropriate support, most children can learn to read quite easily by the age of eight. If something is nearly always possible then it may become a universal target or standard. So the school curriculum is constructed with the assumption that all children should start to read at the age of eight.
	A large proportion of children now achieve their targets.
	Put very crudely, the UK system is designed for failure, while the continental system is designed for success.

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