So, it seems. I just received my February edition of their magazine. (http://magazine.wustl.edu/2014/february/Pages/default.aspx) I started reading the cover article, “Creating Paths of Opportunity” (http://magazine.wustl.edu/2014/February/Pages/Creating-Paths-of-Opportunity.aspx ). It notes that Chancellor Wrighton just returned from a White House Summit on Higher Education on how to do more to “…attract and retain students of all backgrounds…” (Washington U. […]
Archives for March 2014
WSJ: Pressured to State Facts, Schools Give Excuses and Questionable Data
March 17, 2014 by
There is a good article in today’s WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/reader-comments.html?baseDocId=SB10001424052702303546204579435050684294642&headline=Colleges%20Are%20Tested%20by%20Push%20to%20Prove%20Graduates’%20Career%20Success I commented as follows: from my experience as a former professor (I taught math at Wsshington University at St. Louis.), I read the opening paragraphs of this article as follows: “Marketing and sales departments of universities tout their schools qualities, but are unwilling to release data […]
The SAT Essay Test is This Bad????
March 7, 2014 by
I started reading http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=1 in the New York Times Magazine and I was stopped dead in my tracks with amazement, even for me. You will see why when you read my comment. Here it is: “This tale from the article (that I have copied and pasted below) is outrageous. Unfortunately, from my observations as a former professor, […]
New SAT: As Usual I Worry But…
March 6, 2014 by
I better learn more before I comment. To see why I worry go to On Mark Bauerlein’s Commentary in “The Chronicle of Higher Education”. Here are some links to articles I will be reading http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?hp http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/this-is-what-the-new-sat-will-be-like/284245/ http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303369904579421141753757748?mod=WSJ_hppMIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond&mg=reno64-wsj http://chronicle.com/article/Plans-for-New-SAT-Spark-Mixed/145141/
Zombies! Zombies! Get Your Zombies Here! (Who Needs Shakespeare?)
March 4, 2014 by
This is my response to a front page article in the Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579361451951384512 Who knows, maybe I’m being unfair. Maybe it is a fine topic for study. But I don’t think so. (Speaking of English, I think I had better go to my “English Usage” book to make sure I used “who knows” […]
Excellent Op-Ed But, Again, The Author Seems Not Aware of the Fundamental Problem.
March 3, 2014 by
In her New York Times Op-Ed, SUZANNE METTLER, points out how college now increases inequality. This is no surprise to readers of this blog. Here are the relevant posts. American 15-Year-Olds Fall Further Back in Math No Jobs for Ph.D’s? Depends on what you mean by Ph.D. Professor Alfred Doesn’t Know What is Wrong with […]
The Start of Grade Inflation Wonderfully Described by Someone Who Was There
March 3, 2014 by
There is a new comment on my post Education First? or, Endowment First? . I recommend reading the whole comment; but, here, I want to call attention to the excellent description of how much everything changed in such a short time. I will add some thoughts at the end. “When I first started college in 1967, the […]
Education First? or, Endowment First?
March 1, 2014 by
There is a new post on the Economist site (http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/02/higher-education-0) that discusses new research on how universities spend their endowments when times are hard, and when times are good. Essentially, they “hoard” as much as possible, no matter what. The article summarizes the paper better than I can here. I also recommend looking at the paper. […]
From the New Yorker: Successful Book Publicist (And Author) Describes Reading High Scoring SAT Essays: “Horrified
The article describes a mother who decided to take the SAT and managed to eventually raise her score from 610 CR, 680 CW and 510 Math, to 740, 800 and 560. When she took the 2 part SAT as a high school junior in 1982, she got 410 verbal, 480 math. The article also mentions how […]