Post by @Waterpumpee@lemmus.org

2026-10-16 06:53 UTC

I always felt like some kids are basically doping school. Not allowed for olympics but in school, where grades decide your entire future, parents would buy their quite normal kids some aDHD diagnosis and the prescription makes them better at school. Just look at how many pupils are diagnosed with that recently? Grades bad -> must be aDHD -> meds -> better grades. How’s that fair?

Replies (1)

@yakko@feddit.uk 2026-10-16 07:32

I think the fact is that amphetamines can help you cram, but they don’t help with long-term retention or better comprehension (to say nothing of the more obvious harms). After the test, the stuff you’ve memorised evaporates like yesterday’s breakfast order in the mind of an underpaid waiter. I’ve known people who do this, they don’t retain anything. I would really prefer that we adopt a more naturalistic vetting method for students than standardised testing. Instead of having professors double as test proctors, there should be a sort of structured interview and staff whose whole job it is to probe student understanding. Test design theory is admittedly quite advanced around multiple choice, but I don’t think they’re fit for task anymore in the age of LLMs and performance ‘enhancing’ drugs. I don’t know. Maybe my idea could work, but all I know is the way we do things now doesn’t.

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