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A comment on US 4th, 8th grade math scores post significant decline for first time since 1990. Parent comment

Re:US 4th, 8th grade math scores post significant decline fo... by dubya on Monday October 24, 2022 @11:38AM (#33318125)
Standardized test scores are correlated with race, but schools want to admit a more diverse set of students. If they consider test scores and still try for more diversity, it looks a lot like discrimination against groups with high scorers, like Asians. I think the SCOTUS has agreed to take a case against Harvard pertaining to this.

My own institution did not require standardized tests for a couple of years, mostly because of Covid, and it's been a bit of a mess. Test scores turn out to be good for placement in math classes.

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Re:US 4th, 8th grade math scores post significant decline fo... by PubliusMI on Monday October 24, 2022 @08:59PM (#33324817)
>I think the SCOTUS has agreed to take a case against Harvard pertaining to this

The arguments are next week!

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Re:US 4th, 8th grade math scores post significant decline fo... by P5fRxh5kUvp2th on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @09:01AM (#33329885)
Thomas Sowell has a point on this, affirmative action allows in students that cannot reasonably do the work and it results in higher failure rates for students that got in with affirmative action.

His point is that they got in and feel like a failure when they could have gone to a different school and done just fine and not felt that way. And that, as such, affirmative action was actually having a negative effect on minorities.

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Re:US 4th, 8th grade math scores post significant decline fo... by dubya on Tuesday October 25, 2022 @12:33PM (#33332858)
I see how that could happen, and probably has. But, for example, I can also see how the top x black applicants to Harvard would be capable of doing very well at Harvard even if those applicants are not in the top 4.6% of SAT scorers who apply to Harvard. (where x is maybe 14% of entering class size to be proportional to US population, and 4.6% is I think the Harvard acceptance rate.)

Anyhow, it's a tough problem and I don't know the right answer and don't envy anyone having to set admission policies.

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