Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#1

Post by mathattack » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 4:11 AM UTC

Asian-American admissions at Harvard
marginalrevolution.com

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#2

Post by supernova87a » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 4:59 AM UTC

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population.

But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy the cards that have already been dealt, and even if so what evidence is there that it actually does what people say it does?

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#3

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:02 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#4

Post by toasterlovin » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:06 AM UTC

supernova87a wrote: post #2

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population. But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy t…

To say nothing of the logical contortions required to argue that modern standardized tests discriminates based on ancestry or skin color.

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#5

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:07 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#6

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:15 AM UTC

supernova87a wrote: post #2

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population. But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy t…

[deleted]

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#7

Post by learc83 » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:16 AM UTC

toasterlovin wrote: post #4

supernova87a wrote: post #2

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population. But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy t…

To say nothing of the logical contortions required to argue that modern standardized tests discriminates based on ancestry or skin color.

They clearly do. The most explicit example is that ancestry correlates with whether you are a native speaker of the dialect the test was written in.

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#8

Post by cdmckay » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:17 AM UTC

supernova87a wrote: post #2

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population. But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy t…

We don’t use any standardized testing in Canada and I don’t think it’s affected our higher education system at all.

Are there any proven advantages to standardized testing?

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#9

Post by CBLT » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:21 AM UTC

Discussed 13 hours ago with 117 comments[0].

[0]:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17320360

Re: Asian-American admissions at Harvard

#10

Post by tomdell » Sat, Jun 16, 2018, 5:22 AM UTC

toasterlovin wrote: post #4

supernova87a wrote: post #2

There was just a story today in the news about the University of Chicago completely doing away with requiring SAT/ACT for admissions. It seems like we're bending over backwards to toss out any kind of test or criterion that could be perceived as discriminatory. With one stated goal to make the student body mirror the general population. But that is a flawed premise. Is it even the role of higher education to remedy t…

To say nothing of the logical contortions required to argue that modern standardized tests discriminates based on ancestry or skin color.

That is not the argument.

Tests are written by people who talk a certain way, in a way that is easier to process for people who talk the same way. Different communities use different language, and this is reflected in how quickly different students process the problems on standardized tests. There's also the issue that standardized test scores are higher for students who have the time and encouragement to study for them - things which are scarce in poorer families where the student might have to work or help take care of younger siblings. Years of institutionalized racism (loans not given, redlining, denial of employment opportunities) have economically crippled some ethnic communities.