The SAT Controversy
1) According to the video and the article, who and how was the SAT developed and for what purpose?
The SAT, or as it was called in the beginning, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, had its debut in the late 1930’s. In 1933, a gentleman by the name of James Bryant Conant became the president of Harvard University. At the time he became president, only the elite in the area were admitted into Harvard. This distinct social group was all male, all white, all Protestant, most Episcopalian. They basically were descendents of the Puritans who had come from Europe. These were decent people but they had formed a very closed group, almost a club, and controlled everything. James Conant was not particularly fond of this group and he wanted to unlock the hold they had not only on Harvard but on all of America. He had a vision, which actually originated with Thomas Jefferson, that there were people across America who were very intelligent, very talented, and very successful and you needed to find them, educate them and then let them run the country. His goal was a classless society. However, he needed a way to identify these people so he could bring them to Harvard to get that education. As a step in that direction, Conant instituted a new scholarship program for boys who were academically gifted and who did not come from the elite Eastern boarding schools where Harvard had always received its students. However, Conan needed a way to evaluate these students. He gave that task to his assistant dean, Henry Chauncey.
Henry Chauncey was a very ambitious individual who loved mental testing. Chauncey met a man, named Carl Brigham who had been part of the army’s IQ testing team during World War I. Eventually, Carl Brigham adapted the army’s IQ test for use in college admissions and Chauncey reported back to Conant about the new SAT test. Conant wanted assurance, however, that this test was a test of pure intelligence and not of the quality of the education a student had received. It was important to him that boys of low or modest means and schooling not be penalized. Chauncey reassured Conant and the SAT was adopted to evaluate the applicants for the scholarship to Harvard. Later it was accepted as the entrance exam into Harvard for all students and eventually all Ivy League schools.
Students should not have to take a test just to enter in to college because students are more than a test score, they are people too. Why are students compared with a test score that – more often than not - does not reflect their academic ability? These tests are biased because people write the questions and, therefore, they can make the question wordy and choose which ones to omit (Pollard). These test do not measure a person’s intelligence; rather, their test taking ability. As proof, the ACT science portion of the test do not pertain to science knowledge at all; rather, it ...
He professes: “We set out to determine what a child knows in order to tailor instruction, but we frequently slot rather than shape, categorize rather than foster. And the poorer the kids are- the less power their parents have- the more likely are their chances of being, as Lillian put it, hurt about their intelligence.” This portion of the passage really stuck out to me for many reasons. In this part of the passage I am brought back to the beginning of the book when Rose, himself, was put on the remedial track because his file was misplaced with another individuals file; Rose’s parents had minimal education themselves, didn’t know what to say or do in the situation. If the test would have been used to tailor and shape, the teachers would have known that he wasn’t supposed to be on the vocational track. Also, this reminded me of the ACT and SAT testing, a common standardized test that is used for college acceptance. The American education system relies on the test to show the intelligence of a person when all the test accomplishes is how well a person can
the burden of poor personal traits on the shoulders of the College. Schools, especially Harvard, provide excellent foundations for education for young men and women all over the country. Henry Adams, unfortunately, is a weak, rich, Bostonian who failed to pick up any leadership qualities in school and feels it is necessary to blame the school and not himself.
Started by the Congregationalist, Harvard was founded as a school that trained men for the ministry of being a pastor (Barton, (2004)). Its philosophy was “Christ and the church and to the glory of God” (Barton, (2004)). This school produced great men such as Cushing, Pickering and many more that would lay a Godly foundation for education (Barton, (2004)).
A study conducted by Charles Rooney a member of the National Center for Fair and Open testing states that, "[More than 275 colleges and universities across the United States, acting on the belief that "test scores do not equal merit," do not use the SAT or the ACT to make admissions decisions about some part or all of their freshmen.]"
The SAT, which is a national standardized test, designed to test skills, accuracy and knowledge of students has always been surrounded by controversies. It was originally created to eliminate the difference between students from different social backgrounds and provide equal level field. The test was developed by a psychologist from Princeton named Dr Carl Brigham in 1926, who also had controversial views on race, that suggested Anglo-Saxons were more intelligent than Other Races. Later in which he publicly apologized for. The SAT was designed to have impact on everyone equally, but studies have suggested the opposite. Initially the test aimed to give students from small towns in the northeast of the
"Former Bates College Dean of Admissions, William Hiss, said that intelligence is so complex, varied, and multifaceted that “no standardized testing system can be expected to capture it”(Westlund). Throughout the years standardized testing has changed its purpose and not for the better. In the late 1930s, the goal of taking standardized test was to award scholarships to "diamond in the rough" students (Westlund). Currently, the whole idea of taking the SAT or ACT is getting admitted into a college. Standardized test should not be a deciding factor of being admitted into a college.
Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. Crime: Local and Global, William Publishing, (Devon). P. 3.
The article for discussion this week regarding “Policing and the Fear of Crime” touched on the significant factors that reference the fear of crime. The article first addresses how people feel about crime in their community. Then it progresses the analysis fear from a collection of data and concepts retrieved from research, surveys, and polls. There was an evaluation done in the seventies and eighties, which showed an overwhelming percentage of people who were fearful of becoming victims of violent crimes. There was data retrieved from polls that suggested people were even limiting their activities because they felt uneasy about walking down the street. The sense of fear traveled across different ages, sexes, and professions. The least frightened group individuals were young men, and the most scared were senior women (Moore & Trojanowicz, 1988). There were also variables such as race, class, and residence that altered the public’s perception about fear of violence. The researchers investigated participants who felt as thou if they were ever to acquire wealth and status, their fears of being victims of crime would reduce dramatically. Next, the article addressed what causes someone to become fearful. It was the possibility of actually becoming a victim of a crime which was a considerable influence on person’s fear of crime. There are also the factors of hearsay information about victimization traveling through word of mouth and social networks that cause people to become fearful. While I was assigned to the Gang Unit, people would always ask the questions about the rumors that get passed around about gangs targeting specific individuals for initiations around certain days and times. During my time on the unit,
Overall it is evident that standardized testing has affected the education in the United States negatively. The main flaw is that policymakers made standardized testing the center of our education system, which intern led to vast changes in curriculum where educators were forced to teach to test rather than teaching materials that fosters creativity, and enhances knowledge. Howard Gardner, famous for his work on multiple intelligences, stated he was unconcerned that American children were ranked last among the major industrial nations in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. He reported that tests measure exposure to facts and skills not whether or not kids can think (Ritter 5).
Kohn, Alfie. The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann 2000.
In the early 1930s, James B. Conant, president of Harvard University, decided to develop a test for admissions, that was reliable way to measure student achievement without taking into consideration who the test taker was or what background they came from. According to Kevin Finneran, editor of Issues in Science & Technology, Conant believed that through administering the same test to all applicants for admission, factors such as family wealth, which private or elite academy the student may have attended, and any benefits their attendance would bring to the university would be removed from the decision making process. While his colleagues believe this would provide a real excuse for excluding those they did not particularly want entering Harvard, they were soon proved wrong as an increasing number of underprivileged students began scoring very high on tests and ultimately earning acceptance into the university.... ... middle of paper ... ...
To illustrate the industry of games as it currently stands, the infographic denotes the different industry players in relation to each other and the channels through which players access media. The graphic shows a cross-section of a sphere that allows us to see inside the “gaming sphere.” A spherical shape was chosen to
Available goods and services: Customers are benefitted from online stores as they provide more variety of goods from all over the world than any physical store. All the brands are available. Most companies have their websites to offer goods/services online, no matter they have any front store or not. Many traditional retailers sell certain products only available online to reduce their retailing cost or to offer customers with more choices of size, color etc. Also, online shopping sometimes offer good pay plans and options for customers. They can decide their payment amount and date in their own convenience &
The need for an indicator of academic preparation and college placement yielded the American College Testing. Since the early 1900’s, standardized college admission test has been the forefront of getting into college. Student success in college has used standardized testing as an effective tool for predicting success. Various studies have shown the importance of ACT testing as being a reliable source in predicting a student’s success. However, other studies have shown the lack of importance and ineffective indicators that come with standardized testing. Examining the history, research studies, pros and the cons of the standardized testing will conclude of why some colleges and post-secondary education systems are moving away from this type of testing just as they adopted it.