From: J.Theodore.Schuerzinger@dartmouth.edu (J. Theodore Schuerzinger)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,misc.education
Subject: Tough Tests(Re: Education (was: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO 
 JAPAN?))
Date: 15 Dec 92 15:57:09 GMT
 <justin.724223500@mik.uky.edu> 
 <1992Dec13.152427.29172@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>  
 <Bz7uxx.LC7@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0b1@newshost.dartmouth.edu

In article <Bz7uxx.LC7@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Brent Irvine) quotes me:

> In article <1992Dec13.152427.29172@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> J.Theodore.Schuerzinger@dartmouth.edu (J. Theodore Schuerzinger) writes:
> >In article <justin.724223500@mik.uky.edu>
> >justin@nx30.mik.uky.edu (justin sullivan) writes:
> >
> >[much about the quality of other countries' high-school students
> >deleted]
> >
> >> You want more aptitude tests? Why? So colleges can raise their standards
> >> and deny even more people a higher education? The price of a college education
> >> alone automatically puts it out of the reach of tens of millions of Americans..
> >
> >Most other countries make the college admissions requirements very
> >difficult.  Maybe if we had a rigorous high-school system we would have
> >better college students, but Americans seem to think that everybody
> >should have the right to go to college.  IMO most of the 'state
> >schools' seem to have much lower admission requirements than, say, an
> >Ivy League institution, and that's why our colleges generally have such
> >low-quality students.  For example, I had a friend get accepted to one
> >of the SUNY schools without even sending in one of the parts of the
> >application.  If all colleges had the rigorous admissions standards of
> >the Ivy League, they'd go out of business -- there simply aren't enough
> >students who meet the standards.
> 
> Bite your tongue!  College and higher education should be available
> as an option for nearly anyone who has the determination and cash to
> learn.  I think part of our culture is at least trying to create a
> class system based on determination and luck.  Based on my test scores,
> I shouldn't have gone to the schools that I did, but through determination
> I was able to secure a high GPA that allowed me to go to this grad school.
> I agree that the Ivy League has high admission standards, and that many
> state schools do not have as high standards, but that should not be
> a reason to shut the door and create an underclass of determined but not so
> brainy people. 
> By emulating Europe and Japan in this respect, we would create a similarly
> based caste system, with the most brainy running things, and the 
> more practical and determined underclass less empowered.  Sorry, I 
> prefer the opportunity to defy the 'odds' thank you very much...

Of course, Europe has a much better social-welfare system, less
poverty, less crime, etc. than the USA.  Additionally, the UK had the
intelligence to vote the Conservatives into power into four straight
elections, something the American voters didn't have the smarts to
do.... :-)

Actually, the Founding FATHERS didn't like the idea of having the
uneducated have a huge influence on the election; hence the Electoral
College system.

I still think US university admission requirements are too lenient.


--Ted Schuerzinger
email: .zed@Dartmouth.EDU
"I should have known it would be bad vodka when all the label said was
'Russian Vodka'."