Re: Justification for the SAT

[gerald bracey <gbracey@EROLS.COM>]

Stephen, when you say that people believe that "somehow teachers assign
grades in a perfect manner that never contains bias," all you do is show how
little you know about us and destroy your own credibility.  No one would
ever believe that.

The fact is, though, that at most institutions, the GPA is a better
predictor of success than the SAT.  And the GPA based on "rigorous courses"
is better still.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen McGinnis" <Nanodev@AOL.COM>
To: <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, September 01, 2001 9:34 AM
Subject: Re: Justification for the SAT


> The fundamental problem is the inherent bias in the assessment reform
> community.  There is an unquestioned belief that somehow teachers assign
> grades in a perfect manner that never contains bias.  The fact that there
are
> multiple assessments by many individuals is irrelevant.  Since the
teaching
> corps is very homogeneous and grades are based on almost identical
subjective
> factors (homework, neatness, behavior,etc.) the inclusion of multiple
> evaluations does not improve accuracy.  This argument is in fact identical
to
> saying that if we gave the SAT and the ACT to every student, every month,
it
> would somehow become an accurate assessment.
>
> I find it interesting that the PSAT was mentioned.  There has been a
> substantial effort led by FairTest to eliminate apparent bias in this
> objective test.  (This was of course done by adding a subjective
component.)
> However, most scholarships and financial aid are awarded based on teacher
> assigned grades. This bias has never been challenged.
>
> The latest Department of Education data shows that the college attendance
> gender gap is 56%-44% and widening.   As a result, it is particularly
> appropriate to begin to examine the gender diversity of the student body
(as
> many institutions are currently doing) and to examine the use of biased
> assessments in the admission process.  (In fact there have been several
> reports of institutions adding to male applicants GPA and/or subtracting
from
> female students GPA to counter the effects of grade bias.)  However, the
> optimum solution would be to address the gender bias inherent in the
grading
> process.
>
> Of course such an analysis will not happen.  The belief in the absolute
> accuracy of classroom grades reminds me of something from another era.
Are
> we back to the dogma that the earth is flat?  There seems to be an equal
> amount of quantitative evidence to support both theories.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Steve McGinnis
>
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