Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
robkhenderson.substack.com
Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
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Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#2The only reason I was able to break into programming was because of high standardized test scores. The SAT and others like it really are a great equalizer. Dropping the requirement is a shame.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#3In principle, SAT scores enable people like me, who were very very good at such tests, to break into elite schools.
In fact, test prep works well enough to enable a shockingly high percentage of legacies and donor brats in elite schools.
Ending SAT use in admissions might enable a more balanced approach to admissions, but it does not broaden access to elite schools. They could increase class sizes, or they could get rid of legacies and donor admissions.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#4'Disguising self-interest as virtue'
Indeed, and this seems like a prime example.
I'm a fan of a level playing-field, and measuring, rather than judging, ability.
But lets face it the putative victim described by the author is actually up against the kids of quite privileged, or dedicated families, who will be hiring private tutors, sending their kids to evening cram schools, or doing the 'tiger-mom' thing.
Some flexibility might give a leg-up to talented kids who haven't had one before (although there is that danger that it could go woke).
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#5Standardized tests remain the only criteria totally in the control of the student. You can study for them and objectively do better, become a better applicant. Everthing else is either circumstantial or based in the opinion of others, mostly highschool teachers. If i had to rely on my highschool teachers' opinion of me i would not have ever gone to university let alone have won scholarships. Standardized testing allowed me to overcome thier base opinions.
Want to be a lawyer but are not sure about law school and do ot know any lawyers? Look to the LSAT. Do well and where you went to university/highschool doesnt matter. Do really well and scholarships will appear. That is the freedom of good standardized testing.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#6In principle, SAT scores enable people like me, who were very very good at such tests, to break into elite schools. In fact, test prep works well enough to enable a shockingly high percentage of legacies and donor brats in elite schools. Ending SAT use in admissions might enable a more balanced approach to admissions, but it does not broaden access to elite schools. They could increase class sizes, or they could get…
Standardized tests are designed to be as non-gameable as possible. They're definitely less gameable than the other admissions criteria still used in elite colleges: admissions essays, playing obscure sports, fancy extracurricular experiences, etc. Most studies find SAT prep confers very limited benefits to the average person.
Having an essay essentially written for you by an expensive consultant with contacts in admissions departments is undetectable and widely practiced. But when it comes to standardized tests, many wealthy families get so desperate for good scores for their kids that they engage in criminal conspiracy (recall the Varsity Blues scandal in 2019).
It's extremely hard for me to see how, when you remove the least gameable aspect of admissions, that it gives the rich less of an advantage. I'm almost certain it gives them more of an advantage instead.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#7The only reason I was able to break into programming was because of high standardized test scores. The SAT and others like it really are a great equalizer. Dropping the requirement is a shame.
Sorry, but what do you mean?
If you said any other career except programming I'd agree with this, but programming is literally the least gate-kept of the high-paying careers. Anyone can break into programming, all you need is the internet, interest and aptitude to understand code.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#8In principle, SAT scores enable people like me, who were very very good at such tests, to break into elite schools. In fact, test prep works well enough to enable a shockingly high percentage of legacies and donor brats in elite schools. Ending SAT use in admissions might enable a more balanced approach to admissions, but it does not broaden access to elite schools. They could increase class sizes, or they could get…
I sometimes wonder if rich people pay tutors to test prep their stupid children simply because they don't want their kids knowing they only got into a good school because of corruption.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#9Maybe I'm old or insufficiently woke, but I don't see legacy or identity as substitutes for demonstrated learning. I see the decay of rigor and achievement as signals of decline of excellence and the crumbling of knowledge. The mythology of "everyone needs degrees" created a wealth transfer scam and a lowering of standards to sell more student loan debt for sheepskins. Maybe we need to throw away arbitrary employment requirements and make universities run on merit. Oh and there's a gender imbalance in most undergraduate programs where the bar is effectively higher for women because men aren't keeping up or have been left behind.
Re: Dropping the SAT requirement is a luxury belief
#10Employers should embrace standardize testing: we're on the cusp of a revolution in education driven by the tireless personalized tutoring and feedback of LLMs
Of course not all schools are ending testing, MIT for example:
"We are reinstating our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles" https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our...