Admissions test

Test scores are a significant piece of information used in college, graduate school, and professional school admissions decisions. Many question how much influence they play in admissions decisions, especially for diverse students. Researchers at Berkeley, Marjorie Shultz and Shelton Zedeck (http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/LSACREPORTfinal-12.pdf) have recently suggested, that at least in the case of law school admissions, that there may be other better predictors of lawyer success than the LSAT exam. They argue that the LSAT is predictive of performance in the first year of law school but does not predict as well for lawyer success. In contrast, biographical data, personality measures, and situational judgment tasks have been found to predict lawyer success and not result in racial achievement gaps. Tufts University is also investigating different admission decisions paradigms (see http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/11/tufts)

Of course, this line of research brings up many questions for admissions overall. First and foremost, how to we define graduate success? Do we replace traditional tests like the LSAT with other tests like personality measures which will likely motivate questions about non-racial forms of discrimination? Should the movement be to supplement our admissions data so as not to rely so heavily on standardized tests? How much of our reliance on traditional tests such as the GRE or LSAT reflect the ease and cost involved in their widespread delivery as compared to the alternatives mentioned?

Institutional Responses to Nooses

This month I learned of yet another noose incident on a college campus. This time the noose was placed around the neck of a cardboard cut out of Senator Barack Obama (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-24-ore-campus_N.htm). Although any noose incident is disturbing, I found unusual hope in the institutional response of the administration and students at George Fox University. Unlike other noose incidents, especially those in corporate arenas, those at George Fox immediately condemned the incident and recognized that its mere occurrence demonstrated that they have more work to do in regards to diversity and inclusion. Rather than adopt a defensive posture or try to explain away the noose as a youthful prank, George Fox administrators reflected on what this meant about their university and how to improve its climate. How would your institution have responded?

Another Argument for Diversity in STEM

Inside Higher Ed's, Making a Case for Diversity in STEM Fields (http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/10/06/chubin), reminds readers that although STEM professionals account for a very small proportion of the American workforce, they have a very large impact on the strength of our national economy. Allowing barriers to diversity in STEM professions to persist puts all of us at risk. Exposure to the diverse perspectives that may emerge from more diverse learning environments helps us engage in more complex reflection and decision making and subsequently better and more innovative problem solving. Yet we all must remember that the diversity of perspectives that is so much needed to ensure American competitiveness is dependent upon creating learning and working environments that are inclusive. What are you doing to make sure that those in your working and learning environment feel free to bring their whole selves to the problems at hand?

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