4 ms·

I think we should use SAT II or AP style subject tests for college admissions instead of SAT. 1) It's standardized so we can compare apples to apples. 2) Stude

I think we should use SAT II or AP style subject tests for college admissions instead of SAT. 1) It's standardized so we can compare apples to apples. 2) Students spend time studying material that is a) taught in schools and b) they can pick their strongest subjects. 3) Subject exams are more reflective of what college is actually like: can you learn material on a particular subject and pass an exam on it? 4) I think the SAT test as a measure of "general intelligence" is too broad and vague, and that makes it both more controversial and less useful. If a student is terrible at math they should still be able to go to college and excel in language. If a student is terrible at language but they love math, they should be able to go to college for that. Forcing people to take a "general intelligence" exam when college is about specializing in a particular major isn't a good metric in my opinion. Students could devote that time to other things: studying particular subjects that are relevant to what they may want to study. I also find the tone of the article obnoxious. The author basically says that people who disagree with him aren't thinking critically. Sure, some of them. But there are plenty of people who have thought critically about this and disagree with the author. Also all the zingers about "liberals" are idiotic. Not everyone who disagrees with him is a liberal. It's unnecessarily divisive, and frankly makes it seem like the author is lazily throwing everyone into 2 buckets: conservative or liberal rather than thinking critically. Ironic.

mbg721 5y ago
Many (most?) students change majors after entering college, so there would have to be some way of dealing with that. But in addition, colleges philosophically still push the idea that their purpose is to produce well-rounded human beings, and bristle at being reduced to hyper-specialized vocational training, even if in practice a lot of that actually happens.
- MyHypatia 5y ago
  To be clear, I'm not advocating for students get pigeonholed into a particular major because of the subject exams they took. They should be free to change majors the same as they do now. Passing 1 or 2 subject tests just shows that a student can: pick a subject, study it, and pass an exam on it. Which is what almost every class in college is like. There is no "general intelligence" class in college, or high school. Studying for a general intelligence test is not what college, high school, or any job is actually like. Studying for a test in a particular subject is useful for high school, college, and a requirement for some jobs (i.e. law, medicine, etc.)
  - mbg721 5y ago
    It's an interesting thought; the problem then would be that everyone would take the exam for the easiest subject. I guess that's no worse than the SAT, but a lot of my non-math college courses weren't really like that anyway. Some of them based the grade on a presentation, regular correct participation (I'm thinking of a foreign-language class), homework, or smaller quizzes with regular feedback. Enroll > Study > Pass Final was kind of rare.
    - MyHypatia 5y ago
      I'm sure students will do a cost/benefit analysis to what exams to study for vs. the perceived difficulty. But a lot of students already take AP physics, AP calculus, AP chemistry, etc. and submit those scores with their college application, which is factored into their admission. So I don't think there will be a mass exodus of students away from those subjects. You're right that some classes are just participation/presentation. But I still think subject tests are a lot closer to "real" high school/college/job than a general intelligence test.

mbg721 5y ago

Many (most?) students change majors after entering college, so there would have to be some way of dealing with that. But in addition, colleges philosophically still push the idea that their purpose is to produce well-rounded human beings, and bristle at being reduced to hyper-specialized vocational training, even if in practice a lot of that actually happens.

MyHypatia 5y ago
To be clear, I'm not advocating for students get pigeonholed into a particular major because of the subject exams they took. They should be free to change majors the same as they do now. Passing 1 or 2 subject tests just shows that a student can: pick a subject, study it, and pass an exam on it. Which is what almost every class in college is like. There is no "general intelligence" class in college, or high school. Studying for a general intelligence test is not what college, high school, or any job is actually like. Studying for a test in a particular subject is useful for high school, college, and a requirement for some jobs (i.e. law, medicine, etc.)
- mbg721 5y ago
  It's an interesting thought; the problem then would be that everyone would take the exam for the easiest subject. I guess that's no worse than the SAT, but a lot of my non-math college courses weren't really like that anyway. Some of them based the grade on a presentation, regular correct participation (I'm thinking of a foreign-language class), homework, or smaller quizzes with regular feedback. Enroll > Study > Pass Final was kind of rare.
  - MyHypatia 5y ago
    I'm sure students will do a cost/benefit analysis to what exams to study for vs. the perceived difficulty. But a lot of students already take AP physics, AP calculus, AP chemistry, etc. and submit those scores with their college application, which is factored into their admission. So I don't think there will be a mass exodus of students away from those subjects. You're right that some classes are just participation/presentation. But I still think subject tests are a lot closer to "real" high school/college/job than a general intelligence test.