The debate over school choice and standardized testing in the United States has been reignited on social media. Users express varying opinions on the effectiveness of public schools and the need for alternatives such as school choice. Some argue that public schools are failing students, particularly those outside middle class and affluent suburbs, and suggest that school choice could exacerbate cultural divides. Others advocate for schools to be considered essential infrastructure to prevent future lockdown-related disruptions. The discussion also touches on the impact of test-optional admissions policies, with Dartmouth College's findings indicating that such policies may lower admissions probabilities for high-achieving, less-advantaged applicants. Critics argue that removing standardized tests like the SAT/ACT from the admissions process can bias selection in favor of higher-income applicants and discourage lower-income students from participating. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's announcement that 2024 will be the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family has also sparked reactions, with some users supporting the move and others protesting it. The sentiment that education funding is meant for educating children and that Tennessee should fund students, not systems, is echoed, with reports of protestors throwing a temper tantrum in response to the governor's statement.
I applaud @dartmouth for embracing standardized tests in a thoughtful manner not to impede social mobility, but precisely to facilitate it. From the President: "In particular, SAT/ACTs can be especially helpful in identifying students from less-resourced backgrounds who would…
Having now observed the grading practices of American private and public schools through my own kids and the children of close friends, I’m increasingly sure that refusing to use standardized tests in admissions is equivalent to actively diluting the intellectual quality of the…
BREAKING: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee: "2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family." Listen to the protestors throwing a temper tantrum about it 🤣 https://t.co/O6obpcijvT
See you soon, Nashville. It's time for Tennessee to fund students, not systems. #TNLeg https://t.co/72QgYarjE5
The money doesn't belong to the government schools. Education funding is meant for educating children, not for protecting a particular institution. It's time to fund students, not systems. https://t.co/46ikRtYoAV
Progressives claim the SAT is racist, but requiring students to submit their standardized-test scores helps to ensure a more colorblind admissions process. https://t.co/weMuOTgc2H via Dave Seminara
Public funds should only go to public schools. It’s plain and simple. The GOP in TN wants to use our tax dollars on everything but what they are intended for.
In light of @dartmouth returning to testing, here's a thread based on @NYMag piece I wrote last year on MIT and why it dug into its historical data rather than doing what many other colleges are doing: looking at how test-optional admits are performing: https://t.co/30BDuwNJW2 https://t.co/LO0xE2WgTd
When you take away the SAT/ACT, you make the selection process even more biased for higher-income applicants. When you make it optional, you discourage lower-income students from even taking a chance on the SAT/ACT. https://t.co/RGmFwAqOCk
“High-achieving less-advantaged and U.S. first-generation college-going applicants lowered their Dartmouth admissions probabilities by opting not to submit a score.” Dartmouth College found that going test-optional for admissions hurt the chances of less-advantaged applicants: https://t.co/VNz5lm0fDe
Super interesting - especially the piece about lower-income students withholding SAT scores that would have helped them get in. There are strong priors on both sides of this issue. Hopefully evidence on the effects of policy changes like this will move us forward! https://t.co/KEdZesnDkB
Edmunds may have conceded that economic costs of lockdowns weren't taken into account when decisions were made, but the harms to our children go further than that. We need schools to be classed as Essential Infrastructure so it never happens again. https://t.co/bYh7ixU8JD
Public schools everywhere (rural and urban) except middle class to well off suburbs seem to be failing students no matter how much money is thrown at them. Yet more privatization and school choice I’m afraid will create its own cultural divide issues…
I don’t know. Public schools have always been bad since I was a kid. They’ve gone from bad to worse. Parents need school choice. https://t.co/AXfG240Anh
Another example of why we need school choice. If somebody chooses to send their kids and $$$ to a school that supports and funds this person, I vehemently disagree, but that is up to them. But to *force* us to fund schools that choose to spend money this way? That's wrong! https://t.co/Skyu8f2x9L