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The point of the SAT in the first place was to increase diversity. Back then, it meant smart kids who weren't part of the establishment. Now, they want to get r

The point of the SAT in the first place was to increase diversity. Back then, it meant smart kids who weren't part of the establishment. Now, they want to get rid of it to increase diversity. Except, now it means stupid kids who aren't part of the establishment. The only group that remains the same are the losers, and that's the whole point.

tokenadult 18y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by "establishment" in this context, other than my guess that I'm not part of the establishment. After edit: Quite a few scholars contend that for a long time the student characteristic that has set college availability even more than SAT scores is family income. Laura D'Andrea Tyson, one of President Clinton's economics advisors, called for taking student family income more into account in admissions back in 2003: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_27/b3840045_mz007.htm http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_27/b3840045_... Several studies and journalistic reports have shown that in previous years, student income limited college choices more than student test scores: http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveraging/4 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveragi... http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.pdf http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.... Now some colleges claim to have outreach to increase socioeconomic diversity on campus: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11/10/colleges_reach_out_to_poorer_students?mode=PF http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11... Based on what I have heard in anecdotes about this year's admission results, Princeton, which was the first college in the Ivy League to announce a no-loan financial aid policy, is in earnest about admitting more students from low-income backgrounds.
- sachinag 18y ago
  Establishment meant WASPs. Brandeis was set up as the Jewish Harvard because high-performing Jewish high schoolers were getting passed over for Ivy League admission for legacy WASPs. After World War II, the Ivies opened up considerably and the "need" for a Jewish school diminished although it maintains its identity (the same as HBCUs, for example). The issue of the SATs still being a fantastic determinant of first year college success says something, but I'm not sure what. Perhaps the colleges would let in more minorities, but they'd not perform as well? Would those minorities do better since more of them would get in and they wouldn't be as isolated as they are now?

tokenadult 18y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "establishment" in this context, other than my guess that I'm not part of the establishment. After edit: Quite a few scholars contend that for a long time the student characteristic that has set college availability even more than SAT scores is family income. Laura D'Andrea Tyson, one of President Clinton's economics advisors, called for taking student family income more into account in admissions back in 2003: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_27/b3840045_mz007.htm http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_27/b3840045_... Several studies and journalistic reports have shown that in previous years, student income limited college choices more than student test scores: http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveraging/4 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveragi... http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.pdf http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.... Now some colleges claim to have outreach to increase socioeconomic diversity on campus: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11/10/colleges_reach_out_to_poorer_students?mode=PF http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11... Based on what I have heard in anecdotes about this year's admission results, Princeton, which was the first college in the Ivy League to announce a no-loan financial aid policy, is in earnest about admitting more students from low-income backgrounds.

sachinag 18y ago
Establishment meant WASPs. Brandeis was set up as the Jewish Harvard because high-performing Jewish high schoolers were getting passed over for Ivy League admission for legacy WASPs. After World War II, the Ivies opened up considerably and the "need" for a Jewish school diminished although it maintains its identity (the same as HBCUs, for example). The issue of the SATs still being a fantastic determinant of first year college success says something, but I'm not sure what. Perhaps the colleges would let in more minorities, but they'd not perform as well? Would those minorities do better since more of them would get in and they wouldn't be as isolated as they are now?