Academic opportunity

[Loren Booda]

Would you agree that preferential treatment be given by universities to those whose high school districts failed to meet equal education, as measured by standardized tests?

 

[ultimablah]

Do you mean, would I agree that preferential treatment should be given?

In which case, I say no, as universities are rewarded simply for existing in an educationally poor location.

 

[russ_watters]

No. I think colleges should admit the candidates most likely to succeed academically.

 

[WarPhalange]

No, but it would be nice if there was a program between the university and the high schools.

For example in my area local high school kids can enroll in community college full time for free and have those classes count as both high school credit and college credit (if what they are taking is college-level). I think that this is a great idea. Those who want to learn have the chance to do it.

 

[Loren Booda]

Thanks all for your feedback, an education in itself. Community colleges indeed make a great resource for high schoolers.

In which case, I say no, as universities are rewarded simply for existing in an educationally poor location.

Would you please elucidate?

 

[ultimablah]

Why should a university be rewarded with money just because its surrounding high school districts are incapable of providing a quality education?

Wouldn't it be better if a university were, instead, rewarded by attempting to integrate itself with the high school curriculum, and tried to make an easier, more natural, and economically viable transfer from HS to U(much like WarPhalange mentions)? A university can easily increase attendance by gathering qualified students from high schools (I actually experienced a similar setup like WarPhalange, where I could take college courses in high school). If a university helped a high school to increase its quality and success of education, and this resulted in higher attendance at universities, then the funding provided would be reasonable.

The university would have to use the funding towards improving the high schools in the surrounding area if it were to be viable in absolutely any way. After all, those who fail in high school generally don't go to universities, anyway.

 

[CaptainQuasar]

I think you misunderstood the question ultimablah, but I misunderstood it the first time I read it as well. I think he's asking whether the students who attended a high school that is rated as a below-standard education (via test scores) should get a sort of handicap when they're being evaluated by a university admissions board; basically whether they should be regarded as disadvantaged.

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[TheStatutoryApe]

Why should universities accept people who do not meet their standards? Isn't any student who did poorly in high school capable of attending a community college and later having a better chance of gaining admittance to a university based on their grades and scores there?

 

[vanesch]

Would you agree that preferential treatment be given by universities to those whose high school districts failed to meet equal education, as measured by standardized tests?

Ha, in France there are such measures. I feel mitigated about them. What happens is that prestigeous schools (who are very hard to get into, even for bright students) must have some quota of accepted students who were socially and educationally disfavored.

The problem is that this is very unfair for the average-good students, who have no chance to get into these schools, but who see their peers whom they could beat easily by 10 armlengths get in through these backdoors.

I would be much more in favor for setting up bridge years where students who feel they were disadvantaged, can catch up and compete with the best, rather than to open a backdoor to let in a few strongly disfavored.

link in french: http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/seformer/concours/fiche-synthese/discrimation-positive-categorie-a.shtml