Stanford - test required announcement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a shock. Like it or not AOs just can’t identify the kids with the 4.5 GPAs who deserve to be admitted from those that are the beneficiaries of rampant grade inflation.

Colleges are having to do too much in the way of remedial classes which is hurting their 4 and 6 year graduation numbers which impacts their rankings.

What makes matters worse is that today it isn’t that hard to score well on the SAT/ACT. Hopefully moving it online will restore some rigor to testing.

If it wasn’t hard to score well, then I assume more than 1% would score a 1530.

They do: super scoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

No different than getting a tutor to help boost grades; college counselor to help write college essays; private coaches to help become a D1 athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

Schools are now evaluating scores in the context of socioeconomic background and average score at a student’s high school. They have explicitly said this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain schools will undoubtedly bring back standardized testing requirements but plenty of other colleges will remain test optional or test blind.

Dummies need somewhere to go.

Lower ranked schools are fearful of getting enough students so will remain TO.

There will be a chasm. Elite schools aren’t going to let other schools report higher test score averages when they are using only 25% of total accepted to achieve those averages and the elites are using 100% of students.[b]

This. Hopkins is going to sink. You can’t have fewer students TO submitting scores and use it against a 100% test required school. Elites are falling like Dominoes.

[Anonymous]

They should allow kids to take the test (SAT or ACT) only 2 times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

No different than getting a tutor to help boost grades; college counselor to help write college essays; private coaches to help become a D1 athlete.

💯
All are signs of privilege and all are accepted by colleges….

[Anonymous]

I don’t think there will ever be a foolproof solution to the “privilege” factor. Money can buy most things. And especially with the downfall of affirmative action (which yes is about race not money) all the harder to make up for it…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

No different than getting a tutor to help boost grades; college counselor to help write college essays; private coaches to help become a D1 athlete.

+1000
PP is very one dimensional and stupid.
Test is the most fair measure at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should allow kids to take the test (SAT or ACT) only 2 times.

Or maximum 3 and see all scores from every sitting — no superscoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

No different than getting a tutor to help boost grades; college counselor to help write college essays; private coaches to help become a D1 athlete.

+1000
PP is very one dimensional and stupid.
Test is the most fair measure at least.

Yes and no. Depends on the zip code. On the upside, any wealthy kid that gets tutoring and scores above 1500 clearly knows the material. And any kid going to a crappy school that scores above 1300 is also pretty exceptional. Selective schools are going back to test mandatory to get both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

Why can’t they add questions to their application process such as: did you use an SAT/ACT tutor? Some of these problems are not so difficult to solve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another one bites the dust.

+1. told you. All of the schools are caving. one by one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another one bites the dust.

+1. told you. All of the schools are caving. one by one

They look weak if they don’t. Lower standards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is paying for test prep. Affluent families who pay big money for someone to help their kids with test prep give their kids a huge advantage in this test required world. Until someone figures out how to normalize for that, the whole system is still going to be messed up - test optional, test required, or whatever else! Maybe scores should be reduced by 0.1 point for every dollar you pay for test prep (pay $1000 your score gets reduced 100 points) and require a legally binding agreement that if you lie about your costs you forfeit your acceptance

Why can’t they add questions to their application process such as: did you use an SAT/ACT tutor? Some of these problems are not so difficult to solve.

Why? If asked:
-to know if family can afford test prep/tutoring (presuming tutoring/test prep) leads to better scores.
-you think they will honestly answer anyways?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should allow kids to take the test (SAT or ACT) only 2 times.

Or maximum 3 and see all scores from every sitting — no superscoring.

I understand why moms whose kids had a good day on their first try want this. What’s in it for the top colleges though? The colleges were happy with their classes under test required with superscoring, and now they’re going back to that.