Interesting opinion article on admissions policy

arador
Wed, 09 Feb 2005 07:35:38 +0000

Clearly it is impossible and completely unreasonable to give some 300 million seperate tests.

Instead, we could take a combination of, say, several different tests, essays, activity lists, and teacher recommendations, all the while taking into account the culture and background of the individual,and this would eliminate many of the problems with standardized tests, while still giving the most accurate results possible.

And you cannot have a meritocracy if the people whose merit is being judged do not have the same starting point. If people are given vastly different opportunities, it is not a “system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.” It wouldn’t be solely due to individual ability.