The story at hand is Dartmouth College’s decision to reinstate SAT or ACT requirements for admissions, which has sparked a variety of opinions and analyses. These discussions touch on issues of fairness, merit, racial and economic issues, and the evolving of college admissions policies. Some common facts across the stories being how Dartmouth College reinstating SAT or ACT requirements, becoming the first Ivy League institution to do so post-pandemic. Additionally, other schools like MIT and Georgetown have also reinstated these requirements. These articles highlight the recognition of racial and economic issues in SAT scores. Lastly, they note how the pandemic led to a temporary ease of test requirements across colleges. The facts presented in the news articles could have varied because organizations often have different priorities and angles, leading them to highlight certain aspects of a story over others. one source might focus more on the impact of standardized testing on underprivileged students, while another might emphasize the administrative or educational reasoning behind reinstating these tests. unique facts or views in one news outlet missing in others really shows why it’s crucial to check out different sources to fully grasp complex issues like Dartmouth College bringing back SAT/ACT requirements.
When Forbes calls this a “heartening development,” it’s clear they’re for standardized tests. But then, you have descriptions of the SAT as something that “reinforces inequality,” painting it in a negative light and suggesting it adds to social gaps. Confirmation bias is when people lean towards info that backs up what they already think. This pops up in all the stories, as each one picks and chooses facts to back up their take on testing.
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Very interesting Joan, Its intriguing how the way things written from different perspectives can have such drastic changes in interpretation even through text. The reinforcement of the facts when utilizing a confirmation bias is also a seemingly powerful thing, where the average scroller/reader may see the facts that one side chose to reinforce their point, and say “wow i didn’t know that was true” The SAT’s and standardized testing have been a polarizing topic for a good while now, and its very easy for a media source to tap into the passionate side of a reader who may have their mind made up already and either reinforce all they believe in about that topic, or completely combat it and take the opposite end of the spectrum. It always proves useful to see what sources someone may be using and see what organization they may belong to, or where they may be getting their facts from, sometimes the source may not even be at “fault” because of the use of persuasive vocabulary by the people utilizing that source. Great post Joan and very good analysis!
Good day sir/ma’am J. Contreras,
Your concluding sentence that ”confirmation bias is when people lean towards into that backs up what they already think” is something I completely agree with. I couldn’t have phrased this sentence better. We tend to gravitate to ideas that confirm our own ideas. This is dangerous path to tread because we can become close-minded to information that challenges our own beliefs; consequently, we can become less effective critical thinkers from restricting ourselves from diverse information and the challenge the comes from defending (or supporting) our beliefs. Thank you for your insight Contreras.