<p>This site is a freaking joke. They look at the GE requirements for the school and “grade” according to how many of their subjective courses are requirements.</p>
<p>It’s no wonder Brown got an F - they have no requirements. But I’m pretty damn certain you’d learn more at Brown than at 90% of colleges in the US.</p>
<p>The point is that one can graduate from an institution like Brown with major holes in education or intellectual development. Learning is a lifetime habit, but a grounding in the basics of western civilization will develop the mind better than gender studies.</p>
<p>Years ago, this group put out a book called “Choosing the RIGHT College.” At that time, I went through it page by page, word for word, and that is exactly where my accusations come from. I have not the strength or the desire to go through that exercise again. Suffice it to say it is far longer and more detailed than one article. Regardless of whether UT has multicultural programs or not, this organization’s book rails against such programs, along with anything having to do with courses that explore any American or white fallibilities. While you may or may not think that USNAWR has a political bias in its general reporting, it is not a political organization with an avowed political agenda. That is not the case with this other group in question. Don’t just read one article; read more.</p>
<p>From the Rating Criteria Page of ACTA:</p>
<p>Literature. A comprehensive literature survey. Narrow, single-author, or esoteric courses do not count for this requirement, but introductions to broad subfields (such as British or Latin American literature) do.</p>
<p>U.S. Government or History. A survey course in either U.S. government or history, with enough chronological and topical breadth to expose students to the sweep of American history and institutions. Narrow, niche courses do not count for the requirement, nor do courses that only focus on a narrow chronological period or a specific state or region.</p>
<p>Economics. A course covering basic economic principles, generally an introductory micro- or macroeconomics course taught by faculty from the economics or business departments.</p>
<p>Mathematics. A college-level course in mathematics. Includes advanced algebra, trigonometry, calculus, computer programming, statistics/probability, or mathematical reasoning at or above the intermediate level.</p>
<p>According to these rankings, Princeton does not require the aforementioned and is marked down for not doing so. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that most Princeton-caliber (or Ivy-caliber) high school students will have fulfilled all of these “requirements” via AP/IB classes in high school. People don’t just “get” into Princeton without taking AP US History or AP Calc or whatever. Ergo, it would be highly redundant for Princeton to make these “core” courses required for all students.</p>
<p>While I admire ACTA’s concern for civic literacy or whatever, I believe that these concerns are only relevant for schools that are not largely composed of the best students in the nation.</p>
<p>Wow, based on those requirements ACTA seems to believe that college should be an extension of high school. Grade 13, here I come!</p>
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<p>I can go to any of their A-list schools, pass their required courses without going to class/reading texts, and graduate without learning anything. I can’t say I could do the same at Brown for any of their classes.</p>
<p>“but a grounding in the basics of western civilization will develop the mind better than gender studies.”</p>
<p>What in the world are you talking about?! That is one of my pet-peeves! I can’t stand it when people try to force feed a certain type of education or tradition onto other people. If you don’t want to study western civilization DON’T! If instead you choose to study gender studies, more power to you. How in the world will western civilization develop my mind better than gender studies.</p>
<p>Disclosure: I don’t intend to study gender studies nor ever take a wes-civ class; I just don’t like it when people think their way of learning is better than someone elses preferred method of study.</p>
<p>Unfocused and non directed education is one of my pet peeves. Try reading “The Closing of the American Mind” to see where I’m coming from.</p>
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<p>This. (10char)</p>
<p>I think that the concept behind the rankings possesses substantial legitimacy (but then again I applied to columbia ed and like the core), mainly because I agree that a complete education requires the accumulation of certain skills and exposure to various fundamental texts. However, I think the criteria (as explained on the website) for evaluating whether a school meets the threshold for a given category seem inane–if you require math and science courses, you require math and science courses, even if easy courses are options.</p>
<p>Agreed. The study didn’t go very deep at all.</p>