Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock
. "We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us," says Walt Kelly’s Pogo. (Not Gene Kelly, who never danced punk’s pogo.) That classic Cold War punch line’s almost an affirmation for those of us who consider ourselves enlightened Americans. But as such, a maxim’s never as good as a specific, like:
"We have met the enemy, and he is college admissions deans."
Rather than "He is": He are. They are. They comprise. I did learn grammar and use it as necessary.
When journalists aren’t being harangued by lay people about perceived inadequacies in whatever media pays them, they are asked to commiserate about how young people can’t write. Sometimes it’s that they can’t spell or write grammatically, but often it’s an overall lack of writing ability.
College instructors, no matter what specialty, get this as well. I’ve been there, too.
Both professions agree with their questioners then proceed to some sort of shrug. Sometimes the shrug comes with some sort of defense that writing, or rather clear communication, is Job 1 for that instructor and even his department. Journalists seem to often point to how they themselves have overcome deficiencies in their education.
Enough about me. Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal had this article on D1: "Many Colleges Ignore New SAT Writing Test; Essay May Not Predict Academic Success, Critics Say; When the Results Can Help." (If unable to access this — hit the story’s main source.
The kollege kwiz koaching outfit Kaplan Inc. found 47 percent of the 374 college admissions offices that it queried were "discounting the SAT writing section entirely." As reporter Charles Forelle summarizes: "Some admissions officers say the essay … tests a narrow skill — writing quickly — that isn’t core to a college education." (Quotes are typed in, not cut-and-pasted. Heaven-forbid I risk plagiarism.)
A lot of educators, not to mention business executives who will have to hire ignoramuses in coming years because that’s all that’s available, will differ. Putting one’s knowledge into a commonly accessible cohesion to where an instructor can evaluate it, to where a boss can use it, is nearly the whole purpose of education. It may be the sole point where college as a liberal arts force-feed and college as a white-collar vo-tech school can agree.
Rather than communicate my anger, here’s quote those deans of renowned schools from the article:
- "We don’t know what they [writing scores] mean. We don’t know what they predict." — Dean Ted O’Neill of the University of Chicago.
- "We are using it with a really skeptical eye." — Dean Jess Lord of Haverford College.
- "Sparingly [used] if at all." — Dean Stephen Farmer of UNC-Chapel Hill.
- "The new test ‘did not come from the grass roots.’" — Dean Marilee Jones of MIT, adding in Forelle’s paraphrase, "the focus on writing could hurt students from poorer backgrounds [etc.]. ‘Those kids have a tendency to get left out.’"
The following are among those using the Writing Portion fully, to weigh prospective students: Harvard, Stanford (yes!), Virginia and Wisconsin-Madison. Each of the 374 schools is listed by category in that Kaplan Web page.
What about Arkansas? Can’t say. The University requires ACT scores so was not surveyed. I found John Brown University will give the Writing Portion equal weight to the Math and Critical Reading sections. Under "No Weight" are Hendrix, College of the Ozarks and Ouachita Baptist. Tsk.
Who is responsible for the dumbing down of the young? It was easy enough before to state it’s a complex combination of school administrations, teachers, parents, the society at large. Now, it’s sad to see that about half of America’s colleges see no need for proof of communication skills before matriculation and what they represent, such as critical thinking, comprehension, original conclusions.
Nor is the problem that "teaching to the test" weighs down teachers. That’s lazy and fallacious. Teachers always teach to the test: Can the kid succeed in the next grade always has been the question, which had specific criteria.
We just have to ensure very good tests for teachers teach to. -30-
