Standardized testing originated in the eugenics movement

[exboyfil]

12. Need I mention Margaret Sanger?

I have yet to hear a reasonable alternative to standardized testing of some form to handle the retail needs of most colleges to evaluate applicants for scholarships and admissions. GPA is dependent on whether your school is Monty Hall (handing out As like candy) or like our school that does not add weight to Honors and AP classes even though getting an A in them is much more difficult than the general classes. I think Iowa has a reasonable approach - they have a Regents Admission Index that combines ACT, Class Rank, GPA, and number of core courses to determine an admission's index. You hit the number you know you are admitted (also some scholarships have the RAI as a cut line - you hit it you get the scholarship). It should be noted that the highest level scholarships have ACT cut lines of 31 (actually a 33+ is required to realistically receive one to the University of Iowa for example).

State schools have huge numbers of applicants to wade through.

How different are our admissions tests than the tests in England or Germany?

It is obvious prep work moves the number on these standardized. Even the organizations administering them offer prep services. The important thing to remember is that all High Schools are not of equal standing when grading (or what is actually taught in a specific course for example the problem with so called "Algebra" courses that did not adequately teach the subject). It is interesting even Fair Test (the largest critic of standardized testing) engages in less than complete disclosure. For example they characterize the University of Arizona as one school that does not require ACT/SAT but look at U of A's website:

Applicants may be admitted to the university without test scores but will not be considered for UA scholarships or admission to The Honors College. SAT/ACT test scores may also be required by specific departments or majors and/or for placement into foundation coursework at orientation.


It is interesting that colleges continue to layer more testing requirements even beyond the ACT/AP tests for example. Our state schools also employ ALEKS for math placement. The problem with ALEKS (at least at one school that I know about) is that the test can be taken on your PC at home - no opportunity for security.


I am not saying the SAT/ACT is perfect, but I would like to get alternatives to wade through the mass of applications to public unversities.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2011/06/new_study_questions_validity_of_two_parts_of_act.html

The study, Improving College Performance and Retention the Easy Way: Unpacking the ACT Exam, by Eric P. Bettinger, Brent J. Evans, and Devin G. Pope, suggests that two of the four sub tests of the ACT, English and mathematics, are highly predictive of positive college outcomes, while the other two, science and reading, provide little or no additional predictive power.