Kudos to @NACAC & @AngelBPerez for sharing data on who belongs to the organization. It left me wondering how well the organization represents the field of admissions and, as in all things, who gets best represented and wields power in the field. #RepresentationMatters
I'm not surprised, I guess, that 86% of community colleges are not members, EXCEPT transfer is one of the most important issues in college access, equity, and antiracism. #RepresentationMatters
NACAC surely needs to hear more from the schools who send transfer students to four-year schools. I imagine this is a matter of budgets. Why not let community colleges join for free? #RepresentationMatters
Cost, again, likely lies behind the frankly embarrassing number of MSIs who belong to NACAC. There are 32 tribal colleges in the US. ZERO are members of NACAC. Again, free membership. #RepresentationMatters
I assume $ also explains why the majority of member high schools are private (I imagine most of the int'l schools are too), even though in the US 1.4M kids go to private high schools and over 15.5M got to public high schools. #RepresentationMatters
Maybe NACAC could give free membership to every school where more than 50% of students are on FRLP and provide free registration to one counselor from that school. #RepresentationMatters
If we look at the actual membership, representation looks like a big problem there too.
I wonder if there's any research on who chooses not to disclose their race. #RepresentationMatters
Not surprised that the field is mostly women (although these numbers almost certainly flip if you look at who is running admissions at the schools with the highest paying jobs), but worth thinking about how that could connect to low pay. #RepresentationMatters
I meant it when I said kudos to NACAC for sharing all this data. It's clear that the new CEO, Angel Perez, shares the concerns raised here and believes #representationmatters, and I suspect it will help if members voice their support. And if wealthier ones pay more.
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This is such good reporting from the @harvardcrimeson:
There are about 27,000 high schools in the U.S.
Over the past 15 years, 1 in 11 students at Harvard have come from just 21 high schools.
So 9.1% of Harvard students come from 0.07% of US schools. @nytdavidbrooks
This is no accident. It's a stated priority of Harvard admissions.
The longtime dean of admissions said they're in the business of creating 100 year relationships with schools. He said this in a trial where Harvard was, believe it or not, trying to show it's fair.
Legacy, too, plays its role, as these are the kind of schools where wealthy alumni send their kids.
The most heavily weighted single factor in the Best Colleges rankings is Undergraduate Academic Reputation, which USN calls "Expert Opinion."
Here's the thing: there is absolutely no way the presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions they send the survey to can be qualified to answer the questions, let alone claim expertise.
Let's talk about some dumb stuff people say about test optional admissions. 🧵
This might take a sec, so here's the tl;dr:
TO policies, in and of themselves, are neither a cure-all for what's wrong with American higher ed nor the end of what's good about it, but the evidence points to their doing some good and no harm.
Let's define TO first.
A test-optional policy is one that allows applicants to decide whether they want their test score to be considered. It does not "get rid of tests" or "ban tests."
Almost every 4-yr college in the US is currently test optional.
For decades, colleges, med schools, and law schools have all made the point that standardized tests exist to show readiness to succeed in college or grad school.
Rankings were one of the incentives to focus on scores well beyond the readiness threshold and overemphasize tests. That emphasis has excluded lots of people who were highly qualified to become lawyers and doctors.