Word: élites
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...drop the SAT, by what means should we allot membership in the nation's ?lite? Of course, plenty of people make movies and play in the major leagues and run companies and write for magazines without high SATs. But good scores sure don't hurt. Besides, don't they measure something valuable - something beyond the diligence it takes to memorize the details of the Franco-Prussian War for a history exam? Much of the debate over the SAT boils down to this: Assuming we can measure innate intelligence, do we want a society that rewards genes? Are we afraid...
...fact, most admissions officers - both at ?lite colleges and giant state schools - say they work hard not to put too much emphasis on SATs. They know, says Florida State admissions chief John Barnhill, that "the SAT doesn't measure heart." Although his office generally rejects applicants who score below 900, he remembers a student who was admitted with a 720 - but who had a 3.9 GPA. "We have space for students like that, provided they are in the special support program," he says. "I like the SAT, but I don't love it. I wish I could find something that...
...vast majority of test takers don't wind up going to ?lite schools like Berkeley. Requiring achievement tests rather than aptitude tests is much better for the average high school student. Instantly it becomes clear what the tests measure: learning. There is a clear incentive to study the course material in school, rather than try to learn test-taking tricks. Parents and the general public have a way of measuring the quality of high school education, which ought to be a step on the road to making schools better. Scores will register in the mind as a record of accomplishment...
...having an A average in high school, up from 28% in 1990. And evaluating applicants without the SAT is an expensive proposition. Michael Cowan, chairman of the U.C. academic senate, which would have to approve Atkinson's proposal, estimates that changing the admissions procedure to resemble that of an ?lite liberal-arts college may require a 100% increase in the admissions budget. Atkinson is undeterred. "We have no choice but to invest the necessary funds," he says. "The stakes are too high not to ensure the job is done right...
...This is not your father's Latin, which was taught to ?lite college-bound high schoolers and drilled into them through memorization. Its tedium and perceived irrelevance almost drove Latin from public schools. Today's growth in elementary school Latin has been spurred by new, interactive oral curriculums, enlivened by lessons in Roman mythology and culture. "One thing that makes it engaging for kids is the goofy fun of investigating these guys in togas," says Marion Polsky, author of First Latin: A Language Discovery Program, the textbook used in Fairfax City...