The hottest Standardized tests Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Education Topics

What Happens When You Use a Biased Test for Admissions?

Cremieux Recueil • 241 implied HN points • 24 Feb 24
🚌 Education Standardized tests Education system
  1. Standardized tests can play a crucial role in admissions, as other evaluation criteria like interviews and extracurriculars tend to be biased.
  2. Grade inflation can lead to biases in GPAs, impacting underrepresented students and creating disadvantages based on school demographics or parental education levels.
  3. Using biased tests, like the English listening section of China's Gaokao exam, can inadvertently disadvantage certain groups and impact college admissions, forcing a balance between bias correction and maintaining test significance.

Nice story in the new College Access Rankings

Science Forever • 338 implied HN points • 09 Sep 23
🚌 Education Access Diversity Admissions Standardized tests
  1. Washington University in St. Louis made impressive strides in increasing economic and racial diversity through strategic financial aid policies and initiatives.
  2. Efforts to attract low-income, Black, and Hispanic students did not compromise academic standards, challenging stereotypes about test scores and student demographics.
  3. Progressive financial aid policies, like need-blind admissions and a no-loan policy, have significantly improved access to quality education, setting a positive example for other institutions.

The SAT is not fairer than grades

Pershmail • 78 implied HN points • 03 May 23
🚌 Education Testing Admissions Fairness Social Mobility Standardized tests
  1. For poorer students, high school grades are a better indicator of success than SAT scores.
  2. Standardized tests, like the SAT, can be biased towards wealthier students by reflecting their better access to resources and test preparation.
  3. There is a need for multiple pathways to success in education that do not solely rely on grades or standardized tests, providing second chances for students.

The Prisoner's Dilemma is All Around Us

Metarational • 19 implied HN points • 28 Apr 21
🚌 Education Social Status Standardized tests
  1. The concept of the Prisoner's Dilemma can be observed in various social and economic situations where individual incentives may lead to suboptimal outcomes for everyone involved.
  2. Unaligned incentives, where individual actions aimed at maximizing personal benefit can result in inefficiency for the group as a whole, are prevalent in scenarios like the tragedy of the commons and pollution.
  3. In addressing issues related to unaligned incentives, analogical solutions from economic situations, such as taxes or permits, can be applied to social contexts, like imposing luxury taxes or restricting financial aid based on college major signaling.
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