wws@whuxlm.UUCP (Stoll W William) (04/20/85)
> > Even ETS carefully avoids claiming that the SAT is a reliable means of > evaluating individuals (as opposed to groups), and their claims even > there are restricted to predictions of freshman year performance (when > students in many institutions are taking mass courses graded by - guess > what - multiple choice tests). I mentioned these facts to several other > folks here and was told I was nuts, that there HAD to be more to it than > that. Fortunately I was able to give them copies of an article in > SCIENCE that detailed the modest claims ETS makes for SAT. In fact, > when Ralph Nader's organization published an expose of the SAT, ETS's > reponse was to pooh-pooh the report and claim, "We've been saying that > all along." > > Sorry to rant and rave so long, but this whole issue tends to make me > foam at the mouth! > > -- > D Gary Grady > Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706 > (919) 684-3695 > USENET: {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary I agree with you completely, but here are a couple questions: Is there a *better* way to evaluate high school seniors? We could give them essay and short answer tests and charge them $150 to cover grading... Kind of like Advanced Placement tests.... Also, what percentage of high school grads learn the fine art of multiple-choice test taking? Probably just the smart and/or rich ones; i.e., the ones that could probably go anywhere they wanted anyway. Personally, I am more concerned with "fairness" -- the idea of these tests being geared toward white upper/middle class. Bill Stoll, ..!whuxlm!wws