Another school finds standardized tests

[Midnighter]

The Failed Experiment with Ending Standardized Testing | National Review

When Columbia University announced in March of 2023 that it would become the latest Ivy League school to no longer require applicants to submit SAT/ACT scores for admission, the editors of National Review criticized a move that not only seemed designed explicitly to skirt the Supreme Court’s anticipated decisions banning racial discrimination in college admissions, but threatened the academic quality of the institution as well.

 

[Midnighter]

Tangential to this discussion - seems like the decision to ban race based admissions considerations so far has mixed results for its supporters…

Asian Americans see mixed results in enrollment after end of affirmative action

Asian American enrollment at Columbia and Brown rose, while it decreased at Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton. Harvard remained the same.

www.nbcnews.com

“The big takeaway is that folks who supported the lawsuit were saying, this would be such a big win for Asian Americans, that race-based admissions was some type of barrier to our upward mobility,” said OiYan Poon, faculty affiliate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign office of community college research and leadership. “What we’re seeing is that that’s not really bearing out,” Poon added.

 

[GrimReaper]

Tangential to this discussion - seems like the decision to ban race based admissions considerations so far has mixed results for its supporters…

Asian Americans see mixed results in enrollment after end of affirmative action

Asian American enrollment at Columbia and Brown rose, while it decreased at Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton. Harvard remained the same.

www.nbcnews.com

“The big takeaway is that folks who supported the lawsuit were saying, this would be such a big win for Asian Americans, that race-based admissions was some type of barrier to our upward mobility,” said OiYan Poon, faculty affiliate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign office of community college research and leadership. “What we’re seeing is that that’s not really bearing out,” Poon added.

Not a surprise. Schools like that have 4-5 times the number of applicants with identical credentials of those ultimately admitted and not all of those are Asian-Americans.

 

[bdgan]

And what is generally the strongest predictor of success on the SAT and standardized tests?

Hint:

Are you talking about people getting their unqualified kids in by making big donations? I suspect there is some of that but I doubt it's too many.

 

[GrimReaper]

Are you talking about people getting their unqualified kids in by making big donations? I suspect there is some of that but I doubt it's too many.

 

[bdgan]

Interesting. My line of thought was that schools located in higher income suburbs such as the two you mention have a funding advantage due to the higher property tax base. Yep, you are correct in regard to grade inflation, etc. I'd be interested to know what school district you attended. Quite an accomplishment.

It really depends on the state. Schools are typically financed by a combination of real estate taxes and state aid. Many states give aid in reverse proportion to income as a way to equalize things. That's why states require you to include your school district code on your state tax return.

 

[bdgan]

Money does matter. It’s the best predictor of success on the SAT. I don’t envy teachers. As I said in my original post, my nieces go to the top schools in the Bucks Co. area. Live in an affluent community. Their mother, however, teaches in probably the worst schools in the district. She has been threatened, many kids have ankle monitors on them, and they haven’t had raises in years. Her schools get tons of money but it’s wasted on most students. The ones who manage to make it out and succeed seems to be few and far between.

It's difficult for teachers to compensate for broken families.

My family was reasonably poor when I was a kid but my parents read to me and made sure I did my homework. A lot of kids don't have that.

NYC schools spend $35k per student but "just 33.6% of New York City public school students from kindergarten through 10th grade scored “proficient” on reading assessments"