Contesting The Use Of Tests

The study I discussed yesterday (here, pointing here) lamented the use of the Graduate Record Examination because it makes achieving “diversity” in graduate education more difficult. Today, in another “Short Take” on Minding The Campus, Contesting the Use of Tests, I discuss some revealing objections to new ways the GRE is now being used.

ADDENDUM 30 January 2013

The Value of Liberal Education

I have not closely followed the ongoing discussion of the higher education bubble, a prominent part of which is whether liberal education is worth what it costs. Thus I was interested in this apparently typical article in Inside Higher Ed this morning about what it claims is an emerging “Republican agenda on higher education” that consists primarily — perhaps exclusively, in this view — of cutting funds for liberal arts. The latest example given is North Carolina governor Patrick McCrory, who goes by “Pat” but whom IHE reporter Kevin Kiley calls “Rick” because “[h]e’s a Republican and the second half of his name is ‘Rick,’ and these days — with Rick Scott in Florida and Rick Perry in Texas — that tends to mean criticism of the liberal arts and flagship universities.”

“I’m looking at legislation right now … which would change the basic formula in how education money is given out to our universities and our community colleges,” McCrory told radio host Bill Bennett, who was education secretary under President Reagan. “It’s not based on butts in seats but on how many of those butts can get jobs.”

Well, we all know that all Republicans and conservatives are anti-intellectual yahoos, but (butt?) Gov. McCrory’s doubts about the economic value of book learnin’ pale in comparison to the views of higher education leaders who express disdain for the employment relevance of academic success and even outright hostility to students who offer their high GRE test scores to prospective employers as evidence of their ability that I quote in my discussion yesterday on Minding The Campus that I link above.

 

Say What? (1)

  1. CaptDMO January 31, 2013 at 10:57 am | | Reply

    So, so, how come Mensa stopped accepting the “value” of
    SAT scores, an an “indicator”, right after they were “expanded”, and dumbed down, AGAIN?
    DANG that whole intellect vs.(alleged)knowledge, and their actual applications, thingy!

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