truth,
Actually, average scores on standardized tests have risen dramatically over the past 80 years or so. You don’t know it because the testmakers re-norm the tests every few years. Basically, people are getting smarter! The phenomenon is called the “Flynn effect” and is well documented in the psychology literature. Better education is one of the explanations that has been proposed, as has better nutrition, smaller families, and better test-taking skills. (Kids today are tested and tested and tested and tested and tested….)