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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,272 Likes: 12
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,272 Likes: 12 |
Two thoughts... 1) Interesting. Retro. Everything old is new again. The CommonApp, created about 40 years ago, grew in popularity in the last decade, just about the time it separated from the National Association of Secondary School Principals ( NASSP), who also created National Honor Society ( NHS). Prior to the CommonApp, colleges and Universities created their own applications processes, the flavor of which helped manage expectations about the college. 2) While reading the articles, I thought, "cui bono", to whose benefit? The articles seemed to be written to attract gifted kids, and yet possibly this alternative applications process might reflect an institution's self-interest: helping to drive up the number of applications so that their acceptance rate is a smaller percentage of applications received (it is currently about 37% according to U.S. News & World Report)... voila!... a more selective college! Updated to add...
Production Update #4 of the the Self-Taught documentary talks about college admissions after homeschooling or unschooling.
For all Production Updates, see the Self Taught movie blog webpage.
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,272 Likes: 12
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good for Bard for actually doing something different... Agreed.  ... it's about students' readiness to do [the program] level work. Absolutely! Possibly some elementary school programs will follow suit and find multiple ways to identify gifted program candidates, using demonstrated performance rather than sticking solely to a narrow number of test scores (which the school apparently does not understand the composition of). Thinking of recent threads, including this. Did anyone else catch the part about how all homeschoolers passed the essay entrance exam Yes... The essay applicants, from seven countries and 17 states, ranged in age from 14 to 23. (The youngest to be admitted was 15; the oldest, 19.) Ms. Backlund said she had expected many of them to have had unusual educational experiences, but most came from public schools. All three home-schooled essayists got in. One applicant, found to have plagiarized, did not. Wish they'd've shared the ages of the homeschoolers, all we know is they were between 15 and 19. Because it may be easier to accelerate when homeschooling, it may be safe to venture a guess that the 15-year-old was a homeschooler?
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,489
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Haven't read the articles yet. But there are quite a number of 'test optional' colleges in the U.S. for a number of years. None of these are what I would call the most exclusive schools, but there are quite a number of good schools who allow this option. Most are small liberal arts type schools. Most schools that don't want tests scores want a writing portfolio instead. We looked into this for my DD since she only received mediocre test scores. But in her case (and my DS's) writing isn't their strength either. So while I'm glad to hear this is an option out there since strong writing skills are probably a better indication of college success than good test scores. But it's not really a good option for either of my kids. DS is good at multiple choice tests, and struggles at writing to a prompt. Bard has been good for gifted students for years. They have one of the best Early College programs (Bard at Simon's Rock) around if you can afford it. I know adults who attended years ago and I took a good look at it for my son.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,641 Likes: 3
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From the article: Although standardized test scores were initially implemented to put students on a level playing field for aptitude assessment in the college admissions game, they have since become a divisive factor among applicants. Students with more money to spend on tutors and prep books have an advantage over others who cannot afford to pour money and resources into their preparation. This socioeconomic divide polarizes students, equally prepared for college, by their SAT/ACT scores and puts underprivileged applicants at a disadvantage when up against their privileged peers in the applicant pool. Consequently, the tests have been criticized for failing to serve as an indicator for success in college; a recent National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) study has confirmed that view. In reality, differential access to test prep explains very little of the SES gap in standardized test scores, as discussed in the following blog post: The SAT, Test Prep, Income and Raceby Alex Tabarrok March 11, 2014
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Joined: Dec 2012
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I didn't interpret Bard's entrance exam as a tool to equalize the SES or any other factors. Instead, I took it as a "Forget You" to the College Board: Dr. Botstein acknowledged that the workload might be impractical for some applicants. But he finds a virtue in it, too. “The great thing is, anyone who completes it is better for it. No one,” he said, “is better for having taken the College Board.” I also see it as a clever PR/marking/branding strategy. Whatever Bard's true motivation may be, I still like those essay questions. I should disclose that I am in love with the new Fisher Center , so as a fangirl, I am most likely quite biased here.
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Joined: Dec 2012
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bluemagic, It wasn't until my junior year in college that I finally could write well good term papers. I never learned to write well for essay exams. I've heard it from a SPED professor who specialize in LD that issues tend to resolve naturally around age 13 and/or around age 20. I'm not sure if she was speaking anecdotally or based on research but it made sense to me.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,181
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From the article: Although standardized test scores were initially implemented to put students on a level playing field for aptitude assessment in the college admissions game, they have since become a divisive factor among applicants. Students with more money to spend on tutors and prep books have an advantage over others who cannot afford to pour money and resources into their preparation. This socioeconomic divide polarizes students, equally prepared for college, by their SAT/ACT scores and puts underprivileged applicants at a disadvantage when up against their privileged peers in the applicant pool. Consequently, the tests have been criticized for failing to serve as an indicator for success in college; a recent National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) study has confirmed that view. In reality, differential access to test prep explains very little of the SES gap in standardized test scores, as discussed in the following blog post: The SAT, Test Prep, Income and Raceby Alex Tabarrok March 11, 2014 The other factor that I think is all-too-often overlooked in discussions of SES and correlations to high-stakes standardized testing is twofold. Income matters VERY much in terms of: 1. Ability to shop for a specialist that can get to the bottom of quirky, subtle, or unusual LD/disability issues-- therefore leveling the playing field for those students who have documented and approved accommodations. Most of those students will NOT be those below the median income. Odds are reasonably good, in fact, that low-income students have had little meaningful intervention aimed at mitigation or management either if their parents lack the awareness or resources to argue for it, so they may be at an even greater disadvantage than those of higher SES. 2. Ability to afford to take tests enough times to super-score. When the cost of taking the ACT or SAT is a sacrifice on a family's standard of living (that is, families have to forgo some other necessities, or make changes to spending patterns to afford it), odds are very good that those students are not going to be taking the test more than once. Both of those factors just seem SO obvious to me, and yet the people/agencies that look at income disparity, equality, and want to drive college opportunity for low-income students-- well, they just seem to be blind to both things. Nothing could say more clearly that people analyzing the problem have no first-hand experience of living that way (low income, I mean). Failure to understand the structural barriers present in low-income homes, and how pervasively those barriers prevent access to programs intended to assist such families and their children-- well, that explains so very much about why such programs seem to have very little impact on the target communities. Free meal programs don't understand that the kids of working parents can't access those sites because they lack independent transportation to get there during the summer... Free "prep" or "academic coaching" programs fail to grasp that the target students may be WORKING weekends/evenings to help their family make ends meet, etc. etc. etc. It's not really about who can afford a private tutor. It's about everything.
Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,272 Likes: 12
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... a specialist that can get to the bottom of quirky, subtle, or unusual LD/disability issues-- therefore leveling the playing field for those students who have documented and approved accommodations. Most of those students will NOT be those below the median income. Odds are reasonably good, in fact, that low-income students have had little meaningful intervention aimed at mitigation or management either if their parents lack the awareness or resources to argue for it, so they may be at an even greater disadvantage than those of higher SES. Yes, as society becomes more aware of prevalence of LDs, I believe the lack of timely identification, remediation, instructional difference (IEP), and academic accommodations (504) may explain the pipeline-to-prison, which has been a topic of other threads. Absent an LD diagnosis, behavior issues are regarded as willful disobedience rather than as a brain difference, and the students are believed to benefit from discipline rather than from supportive instruction on how to compensate for these differences.
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