Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 393 posts

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#11

Post by seibelj »

karanke wrote: post #8
redisman wrote: post #6

Paywall. What is the proposed solution to replace it?

They're creating their own test. > The unanimous 23-to-0 vote ratified a proposal put forward last month by UC President Janet Napolitano to phase out the exams over the next five years until the sprawling UC system can develop its own test.

Likely not:

> Ms. Napolitano’s proposal allows four years for the UC system to develop a new exam. If it fails to create or adopt one, then it likely would cease to use any exam, said Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, which has fought against standardized testing for 30 years. Mr. Schaeffer said he doesn’t believe a new exam will be implemented.

“It appears very unlikely that they will be able to design an instrument that is more accurate and fairer than relying on applicants’ high school records,” Mr. Schaeffer said. “And, if a new test somehow meets those goals promoters would face massive adoption barriers, including persuading UC and the rest of the admissions world that a third test is truly needed or useful.”

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#12

Post by vikramkr »

It's weird that the development of our educational system is being driven by what basically boils down to free market competition where UCs reject the value proposition of those standardized tests and impact the market for educational testing services. It's also interesting to see, if you view this as the market becoming more efficient, it's interesting to see how long it took for any significant move towards efficiency to happen by rejecting standardized tests. I wonder if market skeptics are right and that these evaluations and decisions would have been made a lot faster and better with regulation and centralization, or if market advocates are right and this was the best/fastest way to have educational institutions realize the impact subpar admissions selection based on flawed tests has and course correct, which they might only do because UC is competing against other institutions (unlike universities in other countries), and which opens up the market for better evaluation methods that will, because of a profit motive, lead to new, less biased standardized evaluations being developed rapidly to increase equity and equality of opportunity in society.

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#13

Post by basementcat »

seibelj wrote: post #7

Another strike against genuine education. Now prep schools that have 17 valedictorians will help their students pad their applications with nonsense extra-curricular activities and experiences. However it's likely much easier to create the same pastiche of fluff in poorly-performing schools than it is to actually raise test scores. Now more than ever, college signals nothing other than the ability to follow rules and…

Alternatively, this may prompt more students to take the AMC examinations.

https://www.maa.org/math-competitions

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#14

Post by takeda »

adammunich wrote: post #5
collegeburner wrote: post #4

Yay, another chance for schools to curate incoming classes based on what they want on a brochure rather than on merit.

I'd hardly call rich parents paying for SAT prep classes a better solution.

Now they can pay directly?

At least with SAT poor students still had a chance if they did well on the test.

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#15

Post by [deleted] »

karanke wrote: post #8
redisman wrote: post #6

Paywall. What is the proposed solution to replace it?

They're creating their own test. > The unanimous 23-to-0 vote ratified a proposal put forward last month by UC President Janet Napolitano to phase out the exams over the next five years until the sprawling UC system can develop its own test.

[deleted]

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#16

Post by yters »

adammunich wrote: post #5
collegeburner wrote: post #4

Yay, another chance for schools to curate incoming classes based on what they want on a brochure rather than on merit.

I'd hardly call rich parents paying for SAT prep classes a better solution.

I improved my SAT score 100 points just doing practice tests

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#17

Post by zests »

adammunich wrote: post #5
collegeburner wrote: post #4

Yay, another chance for schools to curate incoming classes based on what they want on a brochure rather than on merit.

I'd hardly call rich parents paying for SAT prep classes a better solution.

Private high schools bother me much more then SAT tutors do. I went to $GOOD_UNIVERSITY and it drove me insane how many people had previously gone to a private high school.

The amount of resources they had that I didn't have at my good, public high school was astounding. It was really 'stand out from the crowd' kind of resources that are probably going to become even more important with the removal of SAT/ACT.

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#18

Post by stu2b50 »

I think this is a good move overall. Remember, they're not phasing out tests entirely, it's over a 5 year period before they can develop alternative tests.

I think US college exam systems are horribly flawed.

For one, why are they run by a private non-profit rather than the government?

They're also clearly not difficult enough, when at elite universities it's more a qualification than a determinant. In other nations, they're hard enough that the bell curve doesn't clip at the end.

The tests should be free, or at least free for, say, 2 tests per year per student. They should be harder. And they shouldn't be held in the hands of a third party.

Re: University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

#20

Post by xxpor »

adammunich wrote: post #5
collegeburner wrote: post #4

Yay, another chance for schools to curate incoming classes based on what they want on a brochure rather than on merit.

I'd hardly call rich parents paying for SAT prep classes a better solution.

So instead you have the luck of the draw of what classes your HS wants to put you in and their crazy grading system?

My HS's GPA wasn't out of 4, for example. Also if you ended up in Mr. Boris's class instead of Mrs. Solomon, you basically automatically lost a whole letter grade.

Post reply on HN