My reaction to the quoted portion of the article is a bit different than those shared above by other posters. In light of US News rankings, rampant grade inflation in many high schools, and in response to standardized test scores bolstered by professional tutoring test prep services, the highest ranked colleges & universities need to assess factors beyond GPAs & standardized test scores in order to build a well rounded class. This is simply a recognition that some schools admit individuals, not numbers.
3 Likes
Students do not seem more stressed in other countries. They are less exhausted from the constant litany of sports and extracurriculars here. In many ways it is a far more humane system, students usually know early on if there is even a chance at top schools, and if not, recalibrate to schools more appropriate for them. There is no leading students on with false hopes that the right combination of poignant essays, passionate clubs and rare sports ability will change the outcome.
7 Likes
Some countries really do have a high stakes test. In Korea, the test date is so sacrosanct that airplanes are not allowed to fly so students are not distracted when taking the language portion of the test. Traffic on the road is limited in the morning so students can get to the test, and anyone running late can request, and get, a police escort. The test takes all day and the results have a big impact on a person’s life.
In contrast, there are dozens of times when a high school student can take the ACT or SAT (during typical years). It is a low ceiling test meaning that many students get perfect scores on one or more portions of the test. The test only takes a few hours, and it can be taken multiple times. It is far from the “high stakes test” as seen in the rest of the world.
11 Likes
I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here working in an average public school, but if our students are indeed, average or a little above, (as test results seem to show), extremely few students morph their life around getting into “x” college.
I’m sure those of you with kids in private or competitive public schools see it far more, but here it’s something that’s merely part of some fiction novel no one would really believe.
As I brainstorm about it this morning, that may be why our zip code seems to be a hook when we get students who want to apply to those places and have the stats to do so.
2 Likes
@roycroftmom: I disagree. Have you ever dealt with students in Hong Kong / China ? These students exhibit stress over the college admissions tests.
P.S. South Korea as well.
6 Likes
This is not at all what any of our exchange students have shared with me. They prefer our system and say theirs, with the all important test, is a pressure cooker. Many get involved in and love sports and/or music and wish it were part of their schools. This counts kids from several European and Asian countries.
6 Likes
That is in large part why students who don’t do exceptionally well on that test are happy to get a second chance at American universities.
Yes, I know plenty of kids from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. They prefer those systems to ours, but are glad ours offers a safety net for them.
That’s another troubling aspect - that the character judgments of our children are, in some/many cases, made by admissions officers who are in their 20s or early 30s.
3 Likes
And when you think about it, American elementary and high schools also validate primarily for smartness (GPA/class rank). So it’s the American college admissions system that is suddenly doing something very different to the rest of the US education system, not just the rest of the world.
1 Like
It is nice that at a place like Oxford, the decisions are made by scholars in the field one can respect.
7 Likes
If admission was about performance on a single (or series) of tests, students would know what to do to improve their odds of acceptance: Study hard and get good grades. They would apply to colleges that “match” their actual intellectual abilities instead of becoming a unicorn and hoping it will supplement their mediocre grades/scores enough to get into HYP. To me, this is much less stressful and more equitable because it is straightforward. As is stands, the process seems shrouded in mystery and highly subjective, which is very dispiriting – especially to the average excellent student who isn’t a unicorn, just a smart kid…
6 Likes
Colleges are still primarily looking for “smartness.” They just need more metrics since the top kids are applying to the same top schools.
2 Likes
But my point was it has percolated much more widely. Yes, Berkeley needs more than just test scores, but why on earth does it make sense for a second tier UC to be test blind?
2 Likes
In response to lawsuits, UT long ago instituted a policy of admissions by class rank. Public high schools almost always provide class rank every quarter here, I am told. So high school students largely know from freshman year on which public universities are possible for them. It may not result in the smartest class, but it is transparent.
1 Like
We’re definitely seeing a different segment of kids! We get high performers from Asia and Europe. Their folks tend to send them to improve their English skills helping them be more marketable.
For the school systems themselves, we discuss pros and cons as there are some of each in every country. It would be nice if the world could take the best of all to use everywhere, but alas, that would be too reasonable.
But the single test vs multiple ways to show one is capable including GPA and tests hasn’t been preferred by anyone I’ve talked with. It’s super stressful. Sports, music, clubs, all provide more to “life” along with education.
Yes, clearly different kids. The ones here feel pressured to play sports they do not like, keep up with clubs they do not care about, and continue an instrument when they do not want to, all in the quest for elite college admissions.
1 Like
How do you assess “smartness” in a test optional scenario, though?
2 Likes
Do you teach? Where are you meeting these foreign students? Those I know are our exchange students and are here for a full school year. None get involved in things they don’t like - absolutely none. There are so many choices they find things they do like from drama to debate to music to sports. Usually they wish they had more time to get involved with more.
1 Like
When you compare our system to that in other countries, don’t forget that many have a fixed curriculum. Here, I have heard parents complain about the IB that,“someone else” is determining what our kids need to learn and how well they have learned it. This suggests that a national exam would have a snowballs chance here!
And don’t forget that in many of those countries, college is free. And often just about academics. No sports team (join a city volleyball league if that’s your thing) or ECs. No orchestra or ECs. And often, limited housing. So it makes sense, if that’s what they provide, that that’s what they evaluate.
5 Likes
Well, that makes sense then, @Creekland . The kids you see are only here a year, and are expected to return to their home country for further education. Our private school is about 30% foreign,(usually corporate relocations) the kids expect to graduate from an American high school, and they are choosing whether to pursue an American or international uni. It used to be most of them would choose American, but in the last 10 years or so a clear shift to international university has taken place.
6 Likes