Athletes have lower test scores

Gold, it isn't about dumbing it down. Part of the issue is the phrasing of test questions, including word problems in the math section.

And to answer heyabbott's question from the top of the page, it stops being culturally biased when the people who write the test figure out how to fix it.

 

Word problems are written in English. That's a language of which high school students are expected to have a certain level of mastery by the time they take the SAT, no?

The reason the test appears biased is one culture absconds and mocks education, as Waylon has pointed out. If that culture embraced education as others do, these problems would not exist. Students from other nations (particularly the far east) have no problem with the wording of math problems. And their English is not exactly top-shelf.

 

So we're supposed to just wait for them all to pull themselves up by the proverbial bootstraps, the answer 93Devil seems to espouse?

Or should we recognize that something is systematically wrong with the environment black kids are being brought up, and try to compensate for it and/or play with the switches a little bit? Not for their benefit. Not out of liberal guilt. But for our benefit. For society's.

93, a question: Were your high-achieveing immigrant ancestors brought to this country into slavery? Were they not allowed to use the same drinking fountains as other people just four decades ago? Were they turned away from restaurants and hotels?

We (white people) fucked this up. We owe it to our country to be part of the solution, as well.

 

Waylon, this isn't about setting right the mistakes of the past. It isn't and it shouldn't be. It is about giving all young people in this country as close to an equal opportunity to succeed as possible.

These tests are not measuring what they are supposed to measure. That is what some people here aren't getting.

I don't think 93Devil is discounting the issues that face students coming from bad neighborhoods at all. I would be shocked if he did, since he is probably more qualified to speak on education that most of the people on this board (He has mentioned his background in other threads. I'll leave it to him if he wants to back that up). I know quite a few educators and every single one of them agrees that we rely far too much on standardized testing in this country.

 

I understand that and I agree. I was simply trying to lend some context to why "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps!" isn't a one-size, fits-all admonition. Some people think that's the answer, including my step-father-in-law, who reminds us of that constantly.

 

Ok, take the standardized tests away, what should be used for acceptance to colleges and universities?

 

Nobody is saying they should be taken away. They need to be improved.

This isn't just about tests for college admissions. States are also being forced to use tests such as the Regents exams in New York to measure the progress of their students along the way. This leads to an over-emphasis on teaching to the tests rather than focusing on a well-rounded education.

The Regents aren't a new thing, by the way. What changed is the way they are being used has changed and similar tests are being forced upon other states, which run the risk of losing federal funding if they do not comply. I'm not sure I am explaining this particularly well, though. Maybe 93Devil or somebody else who works in education can help me out.

 

Waylon, how did we (white people) fuck this up? The system isn't flawed. White people didn't cause the overwhelming failure of the two-parent family in the inner city. White people didn't cause a complete decay in values, discipline and accountability. Those things happened without white people's help. This is not a problem of color, unless that color is green. There are poor white people in these conditions, and poor black people who have escaped them.

 

Are we really going to turn this into another affirmative action thread?

 

Is it really a bad thing that colleges let athletes in that might not meet the standard of a typical student?

I'm not saying let a kid that can't read into school because he can run with a football, but I'm in favor of making exceptions for potential students that can help the university in other ways. If that means accepting a 1,000 SAT football player when other kids need a 1,200 to get in, fine. Same goes for kids that can help improve the drama department, the music department, etc.

 

Not a bad thing but there better be a support system around that kid to allow them to take advantage of the opportunity.

 

Slavery? Jim Crow? No effect?

OK ...