Over 20 Percent of Incoming College Freshmen Claim to Be Disabled

[smilesammich 10,727]

3 minutes ago, Sonea said:

My question was: What other means would properly weigh the academic performance of two students from two different schools?

 

(not being mean...its just that you basically copied and pasted "academic performance" out of my sentence without address the question.)

that was my answer. i'm not a fan of standardized tests. especially not beginning in elementary school. i'm not thinking so much from a perspective of college admins.

[Sonea 138]

8 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

that was my answer. i'm not a fan of standardized tests. especially not beginning in elementary school. i'm not thinking so much from a perspective of college admins.

...................I am asking how do you weigh that performance between them?

 

 

Student A goes to a difficult high school that has an average GPA of 2.0 (4.0 scale). Student A is an excellent student and gets a GPA of 3.5

 

Student B goes to a less difficult highschool that has an average GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale). Student B is a slightly above average and gets a 3.65.

 

If you have to make a decision who gets accepted and obviously you have no way to know one school is more difficult than the other how do you weigh their GPAs? This is where standardized tests play a part. In theory Student A will get a slightly better score than Student B despite the lower GPA.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Sonea

[Steeleballz 7,550]

30 minutes ago, Sonea said:

What other means would properly weigh the academic performance of two students from two different schools?

 

  Wouldn't grades work? Perhaps combined with an admissions test? Many countries don't use standardized tests for university admissions. The problem nowadays is people can  study and even pay an instructor just to learn how to pass the test.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Steeleballz

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

3 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  Wouldn't grades work? Perhaps combined with an admissions test? Many countries don't use standardized tests for university admissions. The problem nowadays is people can  study and even pay an instructor just to learn how to pass the test.

I know what you are saying about paying to learn to pass a test.  No real way around that one.

But as for grades... I think they mean much less today than when we went to school.  An A in one school might be 90-100%, but in another school, it might be 93-100%.  And of course, the lines between the grades become more blurred with essay-style questions.  2+2=4 is pretty straightforward, but a teacher in one school might dock a point for not showing your work, whereas a teacher in another school just wants a correct answer.

 

Not saying standardized tests are the bees knees.  But they DO level the playing field more than grades alone.  Of course, those who suffer from not being good at taking tests will not look as intelligent as they may actually be.  Tough call.

[Sonea 138]

8 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  Wouldn't grades work? Perhaps combined with an admissions test? Many countries don't use standardized tests for university admissions. The problem nowadays is people can  study and even pay an instructor just to learn how to pass the test.

I explained grades above. Yes admission tests would be a way to do it as well.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 minute ago, Sonea said:

I explained grades above. Yes admission tests would be a way to do it as well.

 

  Sorry, I got sidetracked for about 45 minutes in the middle of that post, so I had not seen see your subsequent response yet.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

3 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

I know what you are saying about paying to learn to pass a test.  No real way around that one.

But as for grades... I think they mean much less today than when we went to school.  An A in one school might be 90-100%, but in another school, it might be 93-100%.  And of course, the lines between the grades become more blurred with essay-style questions.  2+2=4 is pretty straightforward, but a teacher in one school might dock a point for not showing your work, whereas a teacher in another school just wants a correct answer.

 

Not saying standardized tests are the bees knees.  But they DO level the playing field more than grades alone.  Of course, those who suffer from not being good at taking tests will not look as intelligent as they may actually be.  Tough call.

 

   Yeah. They do types of standardized testing even in elementary now, and they start studying at that age gearing towards passing the test. Schools get additional funding based on the results.

 

   Reminds me of organic chemistry, where our professor told us to study his old exams, because he had the same pool of questions he used over and over. You know it worked great until the next year when some people didn't understand half the prerequisite material. Educators are sometimes their own worst enemies.

[smilesammich 10,727]

30 minutes ago, Sonea said:

...................I am asking how do you weigh that performance between them?

 

 

Student A goes to a difficult high school that has an average GPA of 2.0 (4.0 scale). Student A is an excellent student and gets a GPA of 3.5

 

Student B goes to a less difficult highschool that has an average GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale). Student B is a slightly above average and gets a 3.65.

 

If you have to make a decision who gets accepted and obviously you have no way to know one school is more difficult than the other how do you weigh their GPAs? This is where standardized tests play a part. In theory Student A will get a slightly better score than Student B despite the lower GPA.

i understood what you were asking.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   Yeah. They do types of standardized testing even in elementary now, and they start studying at that age gearing towards passing the test. Schools get additional funding based on the results.

 

   Reminds me of organic chemistry, where our professor told us to study his old exams, because he had the same pool of questions he used over and over. You know it worked great until the next year when some people didn't understand half the prerequisite material. Educators are sometimes their own worst enemies.

Yes, all of that is true.  And dare I say... kids today are not as smart overall as we had to be in our younger years, I think.  Learning HOW to take a test means nothing compared to being able to REASON your way thru one.  

But we could take the lack of love for standardized tests even farther by saying... so many times, a college education is wasted.  People work in fields that their degrees did nothing to prepare them for, nor have any influence on their success today.  And with the cost of a college education today, it’s crazy to spend that much money on an education that you may never use, just to say “yes, I have a degree”.

I chuckle when I read memes like “Yep, another day has gone by, I paid my bills, I mowed my lawn, I fed my family.  And didn’t use algebra one time!” But there is truth behind it.  We should be teaching our kids how to balance checkbooks, how to save money, how to invest in things, and how to navigate daily life.  

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

3 hours ago, Satisfied said:

Why do you need to compare two anybodies?  Job applicants?  College entrance?  Flight school?  NASA space program?  Politician appointee?

We should just give everyone universal income , call them whatever pronoun they wish.

I am kind of glad my doctor had to perform at an advanced level to get a degree and my airline pilot had to take lots of tests and check rides .Ever seen soul plane when snoop dog got his pilot's licesance from correspondence .

Edited August 2, 2018 by Nature Boy Flair

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

4 hours ago, smilesammich said:

an add diagnosis does not automatically mean the person is on medicine. an add/adhd diagnosis has nothing to do with lack of playing outside or socializing.

but i guess that's why there's a process and specialized individuals to oversee the process of determining accommodations.

I know you think most everything I type is wrong, so I thought I’d share a bit of what I learned along my journey with ADD kids.  This way, you won’t be just disbelieving me...

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-pandemic/201308/why-the-increase-in-adhd 

[smilesammich 10,727]

16 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

I know you think most everything I type is wrong, so I thought I’d share a bit of what I learned along my journey with ADD kids.  This way, you won’t be just disbelieving me...

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-pandemic/201308/why-the-increase-in-adhd 

from your link "While true ADHD is probably genetic, all of the above factors could results in increases in behavior that mimic ADHD. "

mimic adhd..

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

If you could see what I see every day and see whole families on disability, along with so many student loan scammers it would make you sick.

 

The flip side of that is people that use to have great credit, whose lives have been ruined by medical Bill's. Sad

 

Also more than a few who had spouses and ex spouses ruin them. 

 

 

[TBoneTX 43,537]

7 hours ago, Satisfied said:

didn’t use algebra one time!

Algebra is the national language of Algeria.

These days, it's important that kids be bilingual.

[Dashinka 23,423]

19 hours ago, smilesammich said:

how can they take advantage if there is board approval to receive accommodations?

i don't know the numbers, but there are way more cases of add and anxiety related disorders than in the past, that would explain the spike.

Phony doctor's notes, fraudulent applications for additional accommodations?  The spike seems to have occurred in just the past few years which makes it a bit more suspicious.  Overall, it makes it hard for schools or potential employers to know that conditions were fair to all with what we are seeing today.