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< cross posted to off-topic-debate >
Rich,
Rich Manzo wrote:
>
> In lugnet.general, Chris Busse writes:
> > In Colorado they are testing using a LEGO building contest for college
> > admission:
> >
> > http://www.denverpost.com/news/news0201c.htm
> >
> > Originally found on slashdot:
> >
> > http://slashdot.org/articles/00/02/01/1135226.shtml
> >
> > Chris Busse
>
> Today on the Rush Limbaugh Program Rush was talking about the above issue.
> Of corse Rush was disgusted that they were using Lego as a college entry exam.
> Details about the exam- Students are given a box of Lego. Then they are shown
> a Lego robot for 1 minute and they have to build the robot to the best of
> their ability. Of corse Rush was disgusted that they were using Lego as a
> college entry exam, as am I. but "LEGO is a tool for 4 year olds" I was
> offended! :)
Hmm... Being a Rush fan and a definite AFOL, I can see the logic of his
thinking. Testing people on the ability to build anything, regardless of
how good they might be, is a strange way of testing anyone. If you
noticed the CNN ( Communist News Network BTW IMO ) article:
"The nine schools in the pilot program will admit a total of 100
students. The students were chosen in December from a group of 700 New
York public high school seniors. Most in the pool were African Americans
and Hispanics who had modest grades and standardized test scores but
personal qualities that counselors believed would let them succeed at
selective colleges."
Denver Post:
" Instead of coloring in bubbles with a No. 2 pencil, selected high
school seniors are snapping together colorful Legos in hopes of
attending the prestigious private college in Colorado Springs.
The revolutionary test is designed to pinpoint students likely to
succeed at tough colleges despite below-average standardized
test scores. The Lego test helps identify initiative, leadership and
an ability to work in groups - qualities that hours-long ACT and
SAT tests never quite get at.
CC is participating in the national experiment with eight other
schools to recruit diverse students who probably wouldn't
otherwise qualify for admission. The stu dents will be admitted this
fall.
"This puts more emphasis on hard-tomeasure characteristics and
less on the standardized tests that frankly have been a stumbling
block for disadvantaged and minority students," said Terry
Swenson, CC's admissions dean.
With affirmative-action programs under legal fire, colleges and
universities are searching for minority admissions procedures that
can withstand allegations of unfair preferences."
Now, based on these statements of both CNN and the Denver Post, instead
of testing everyone equally, based on test scores and their high school
preformance, they are trying to skirt around recent rulings which say
affirmative action is unlawful, and are trying to find tests that get
around this issue. This is why the LEGO test is used. Going to college
has NOTHING to do with "initiative, leadership and an ability to work
in groups ". Working in the real world deals with these issues, and
college is about as removed from reality as anything.
Testing for this ability to build LEGO's with other students as
admission to college is plain wrong, and is rather distressing. College
admission should be a combination of school work, and drive, and not
with building a LEGO robot. This is a pitiful attempt on getting around
rulings of law, instead of addressing the problems of minorities and
their test scores.
Rush points out the hypocracy of these admissions, and I am glad someone
does. As for the four year old toys, I disagree, but that is another
debate, one we have addressed many times here and other places.
Scott S.
Gee imagine if that becomes the new national standard! :) I'd get
> a scholarship to every school out there!!!! :)
>
> -Rich
--
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Scott E. Sanburn-> ssanburn@cleanweb.net
Systems Administrator-Affiliated Engineers -> http://www.aeieng.com
LEGO Page -> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3372/legoindex.html
Home Page -> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3372/index.html
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Message has 6 Replies:
 | | Re: Rush: "Lego is a Tool for 4 year olds"
|
| (...) Being a Rush anti-fan (I think he's a bleeding moron), I don't agree (not just because he's Rush, but because he's WRONG). Using Lego in this way is an excellent test of spatial skills, pinpointing people with the right skills for many (...) (25 years ago, 1-Feb-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Rush: "Lego is a Tool for 4 year olds"
|
| (...) What's so wrong about colleges looking for people with "initiative, leadership and an ability to work in groups?" You yourself said that those are real world issues. Why shouldn't colleges be preparing people for the real world? (25 years ago, 1-Feb-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Rush: "Lego is a Tool for 4 year olds"
|
| (...) Today on the Rush Limbaugh Program Rush was talking about the above issue. Of corse Rush was disgusted that they were using Lego as a college entry exam. Details about the exam- Students are given a box of Lego. Then they are shown a Lego (...) (25 years ago, 1-Feb-00, to lugnet.general)
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