One of the most interesting things that happened during the Care & Equity module for me was that I kept hearing\/reading about news stories that were related to the topics we were discussing.<\/p>\n
Just before I read Terry Gross\u2019 interview with Adam Harris (“The State Must Provide”) along with the group\u2019s comments, I heard an NPR story about MIT reinstating standardized testing for admission (https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/hereandnow\/2022\/04\/13\/mit-standardized-tests<\/a>).\u00a0 In that story, the Dean of Admissions recognized that standardized testing is biased and problematic but made the argument that without SAT scores (for example), students who did not have access to advanced and specialized high school coursework had no other way of showing they were prepared for\/capable of MIT\u2019s curriculum.\u00a0 Interesting argument, but it made me think of some of the frustrations Harris spoke of \u2013 if the students didn\u2019t have access to that advanced\/specialized coursework, wouldn\u2019t that translate into lower standardized test scores anyway\u2013 these aren\u2019t IQ tests \u2013 they are tests that one PREPARES for.\u00a0 The cycle is frustrating.<\/p>\n In the comments on the Harris article, Wilson asked if anyone had ever challenged legacy admissions (similar to the way that affirmative action was challenged). \u00a0\u00a0I thought that was a great comment\/question.\u00a0 I do know that legacy admissions at some schools have been dropped (https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/10\/20\/1047687657\/amherst-college-ending-legacy-admissions<\/a>) and that arguments have been made for that to happen elsewhere \u2013 even from attending students (https:\/\/www.thedartmouth.com\/article\/2021\/05\/dokken-the-power-of-a-legacy<\/a>).\u00a0 I have never thought really deeply about the obvious equity issues here and how those translate to the professional word.\u00a0 I think I might be thinking more about it now that I am a parent, quite frankly.<\/p>\n