Friday, June 04, 2004
The Volokh Conspiracy - Archives 2004-06-01 - 2004-06-07
The Volokh Conspiracy - Archives 2004-06-01 - 2004-06-07: "Moreover, insofar as the children of successful parents do score more highly, the test is measuring something real and not something that will disappear if the SAT is abolished. Such students, on the whole, don't just tend to get better scores, they tend to do better in college too. Ignoring SAT scores just because the children of high-achievers tend to do well would be like ignoring height in basketball players just because the children of tall people tend to be tall."
It may measure something, but is it measuring something useful? Is it measuring a true difference in talent that matters, or in the cases of a few hundred points (say 1300-1500 or 1400-1600) is it simply measuring the aptitude of the student to take a standardized test?
If IQ scores are generally discredited as being a good measure of intelligence, than why is the SAT used as a measurement of intelligence or talent?
Subject tests would be a better idea. They would measure actual knowledge instead of artificial creations such as hastily graded essays or useless analogies.
It may measure something, but is it measuring something useful? Is it measuring a true difference in talent that matters, or in the cases of a few hundred points (say 1300-1500 or 1400-1600) is it simply measuring the aptitude of the student to take a standardized test?
If IQ scores are generally discredited as being a good measure of intelligence, than why is the SAT used as a measurement of intelligence or talent?
Subject tests would be a better idea. They would measure actual knowledge instead of artificial creations such as hastily graded essays or useless analogies.
Comments:
Post a Comment
