This coming January, the NCAA will convene in Texas to decide the future of standardized testing requirements for student-athletes. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA and universities … Continue reading “The NCAA’s Own Goal”
Standardized tests have been attacked for being biased against some groups of students. Is that true? Should we stop using them? Exams like the American College Test (ACT) are supposed … Continue reading “The ACT is Still Useful”
Academic standards do not need to be identical for every institution in the country, and they shouldn’t be. But all baccalaureate institutions should require that applicants at least meet SAT … Continue reading “Model System Policy: Minimum Admission Requirements”
The SAT has been in the news again, this time because of the claim that test-optional policies are a way for colleges to covertly impose affirmative action. It’s true that … Continue reading “What SAT Scores Say About Teacher Effectiveness”
On March 28, 2022, Stuart Schmill, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced the school’s plan to restore the consideration of standardized … Continue reading “Rescuing “Virtue and Talents” Amidst the War on Tests”
Standardized educational tests do not perfectly measure student aptitude or achievement, and no one argues that they do. But they can differ from all other available measures in two respects: … Continue reading “The US Test Mess”
Parents will go to all sorts of lengths to give their children a leg up. In Guilty Admissions: The Bribes, Favors, and Phonies Behind the College Cheating Scandal, journalist Nicole … Continue reading “The Rot of the Prestigious Colleges”
The members of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors are charged with a solemn duty: to oversee and guide the state’s public university system. Although some of their … Continue reading “Don’t Rock the Boat: UNC BOG Members Rarely Vote ‘Nay’”
On July 23, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted to temporarily waive the SAT or ACT requirement for college applicants. The vote came after UNC administrators proposed … Continue reading “UNC Will Not Require the SAT Next Year”
The COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t kill the SAT, but will no doubt leave it in a badly weakened condition. Both the SAT (and its close competitor, the ACT) have had … Continue reading “If We Jettison Standardized Testing, What’s Its Replacement?”