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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (77057)	3/6/2000 4:29:00 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

les, boy that article makes minorities and the underprivileged look bad. i guess using legos to admit students is easier than improving the education system in underprivileged areas so that it is equal to privileged areas. i guess there isn't anything one can do to equalize the parental contribution. kids who's parents stress education have a much better base to build upon and tend to go further academically. i still remember a story from a friend who worked at check mart. a lady walked in to cash her welfare check w/ a child in her hand. she glanced at her check and said, "this check is too small, i think i need another baby." how in the world are her kids going to grow up normal - picking your parents well is a HUGE contributor to success.

To: Les H who wrote (77057)	3/6/2000 4:51:00 PM
From: Dave Feldman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Les, At first glance, the Lego Experiment looks crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised if the "Lego kids" perform well, at least if the schools are serious about the other factors cited in the process, such as public speaking, leadership skills in groups, etc. I was involved in an admissions committee at an extremely selective liberal arts college in the East. 10% of each incoming class was selected out of a pool of applicants who did NOT qualify for admissions by the school's usual criteria. Examples of deficiencies: low scores on one or both parts of the SAT test; lack of stated prerequisites in high school work; GPA below the norm; attendance at a less than stellar high school. Those ten percent were chosen because they proved to be outstanding in SOMETHING. Students were encouraged to submit art projects, essays, videotapes, etc. Year after year, those 10% achieved higher success rates (as measured by graduation rates and GPA) at the university than the "qualified" 90%. Not clear what the conclusion is. Perhaps any student who is superb at any one thing is capable of being outstanding at more than one thing. Perhaps the passion necessary to care deeply about one thing makes the student capable of transferring the passion to others. Unclear. But one thing was clear. The two elements in the admission process that had the most direct correlation to success at that university? Grade point average in high school and a subjective evaluation of the applicant's essay. The 1600 SAT scorers often bombed out in college, particularly ones who had erratic grades in high school. Like some stocks, nonperforming students tend to remain nonperforming students. I was shocked at how successful subjective rankings of students (based on autobiographical essays, handed-in projects, etc.) were, and any subjective ranking of students is open to abuse and discrimination. Admissions is a fascinating process and a serious one -- admissions committees in prestigious universities are gatekeepers to access and privilege.

To: Les H who wrote (77057)	3/6/2000 9:31:00 PM
From: Dennis O'Bell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

When I was drafted back during the Vietnam war era, they administered batteries of tests to everyone - to find who had aptitude for languages, morse code (!), and also these tests to see who could mentally assemble pictures of unfolded boxes of various types. Spatial reasoning was evidently important for cannon fodder... As far as the relevance for keeping pace in a university program, I don't know about that! Isn't there a certain minimum baggage anymore?