intparent-- I agree that most of our kids are likely to land on their feet with this stuff-- but it probably matters a lot for the pointy type kids, and if the trends continue, those who have kids in middle school are going to be facing an even more challenging situation when the time comes.

Originally Posted by madeinuk
I remain in the camp that says:-

a) a university is an academic institution
b) academics should take precedence when selecting applicants
c) if the SAT cannot adequately distinguish students with good academics from those with excellent academics its ceiling is too low

Agreed with respect to a and b.

My point is, though-- what is the difference between a student who is "near perfect" across the board, versus one that is "perfect in ONE area, and just very good in others"?

Because that is the difference when the tests are hard enough-- that is, the difference between my two archetypes. The pointy ones are stratospherically good in their thing, but only "pretty good" at other things. Then there are the global types, who are "really, really good" at almost everything, but nothing really stands out as spectacular.

I don't actually know the answer. I just know that my DD and I tend to be polymaths, and that we often feel a bit insecure in groups of pointy types, since we don't seem to have a "one thing" the way that they do.


Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.