Hope this takes off..

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/nyregion/didnt-ace-sat-just-design-microbe-transplant-research.html?pagewanted=1&hp

"High school seniors with poor grades and even worse SAT scores, you may be just what one of the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts colleges is looking for.

Leon Botstein, Bard’s president of 38 years, said the approach was a “return to basics, to common sense.”
You need not be president of the debate club or captain of the track team. No glowing teacher recommendations are required. You just need to be smart, curious and motivated, and prove it with words — 10,000 words, in the form of four, 2,500-word research papers."

Petrichor wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/nyregion/didnt-ace-sat-just-design-microbe-transplant-research.html?pagewanted=1&hp

"High school seniors with poor grades and even worse SAT scores, you may be just what one of the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts colleges is looking for.

Leon Botstein, Bard’s president of 38 years, said the approach was a “return to basics, to common sense.”
You need not be president of the debate club or captain of the track team. No glowing teacher recommendations are required. You just need to be smart, curious and motivated, and prove it with words — 10,000 words, in the form of four, 2,500-word research papers."

There may be one or two - perhaps - remote chances.

This month, a coalition of private nursery and grade schools in New York recommended that its member schools stop asking very young applicants to take a standardized admissions test, also because of concerns about coaching. And new evidence shows that few low-income students attend elite colleges, despite the financial aid they offer, a problem that Bard hopes its new approach can address.



>>> How many kids from low income families have the real educational background to write research papers on the topics Bard college wants them to? 

If a kid is really capable of writing research papers on those arcane scientific or literary and  historical topics, he or she would have aced the SAT.

Rishi wrote:
If a kid is really capable of writing research papers on those arcane scientific or literary and  historical topics, he or she would have aced the SAT.

I disagree. timed standardized tests demand a different level of gaming the system than writing 10000-word essays. The issue which was already pointed out in the article is about academic honesty - it is difficult to eliminate the suspicion of adult-help at the margins.

Rishi, have you skimmed this book?
http://www.amazon.com/How-Children-Succeed-Curiosity-Character/product-reviews/0547564651

One of the reviews:

'Here is the argument in brief:
==============================
There exists in our society a troubling and growing achievement gap between the have and the have-nots. The cause of that gap is neither merely poverty nor IQ, but a specific set of non-cognitive skills including executive function and conscientiousness, which Tough calls "character." Children who acquire these skills can break historic cyclical patterns of failure.

Malleability of Character and Intelligence
==========================================
Whereas IQ is hardly malleable, executive function and character strengths - specifically grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, curiosity and conscientiousness - are far more malleable. These skills are better predictors of academic performance and educational achievement than IQ and therefore ought to be the direct target of interventions.

Attachment and Lifelong Health
==============================
Tough sees two key areas of influence for those who care for those trapped in cycles of poverty. The first is secure early attachment to parents. "The effect of good parenting is not just emotional or psychological, the neuroscientists say; it is biochemical" (28). Specifically, children who experience high levels of stress but NOT responsive and nurturing parents suffer from a range of lifelong health and mental health issues. However, "When mothers scored high on measures of responsiveness, the impact of those environmental factors on their children seemed to almost disappear" (32). Tough cites one study in which "early parental care predicted which students would graduate even more reliably than IQ or achievement test scores" (36). Importantly, interventions that focus on promoting stronger parent-child relationships in high risk groups (including one in which just 1 of 137 infants studied demonstrated secure attachment at the outset) have shown promising impact. Of the 137 children in the study, 61% of those in the treatment group formed secure attachment by age 2, compared with only 2% of the control group.

Adolescent Character Formation
==============================
Paul Tough highlights the work of school and support programs that intentionally focus on forming the character strength habits that enable children to learn well in schools, form healthy relationships, and avoid the destructive decisions and behavior patterns modeled in their communities. Here, too, Tough sees a ray of hope. Just as early intervention with parents and young children yields wide ranging benefits for families in poverty, so character interventions in adolescence can and do enable young adults surrounded by cycles of poverty to learn self-control, perseverance and focus that are critical for escaping the gravitational pull of their communities.

Why You Should Read This Book
=============================
Paul Tough is tackling one of the most challenging - and contentious - issues of our time. His analysis will offend those who tend to blame poverty predominantly on the irresponsible choices of the poor by showing just how powerful the cyclical, environmental pressures are on children raised in these communities. His work is just as challenging to those who think that those trapped in cycles of poverty are mere victims of their environment who bear no responsibility for their decisions. Tough shows compellingly that parents and children in poverty can and do overcome the powerful environmental forces of their communities - and that this is a beautiful and essential component of breaking cyclical poverty. His call is for those with education and influence - the kinds of people who read books like his - to demonstrate motivation and volition (two components of character formation he extols) to recognize, celebrate, and nurture the character of children and families in poverty.

Graham Scharf"

Petrichor wrote:

Rishi wrote:
If a kid is really capable of writing research papers on those arcane scientific or literary and  historical topics, he or she would have aced the SAT.

I disagree. timed standardized tests demand a different level of gaming the system than writing 10000-word essays. The issue which was already pointed out in the article is about academic honesty - it is difficult to eliminate the suspicion of adult-help at the margins.

A student capable of writing 4 essays of 1000 words on innovative ideas will certainly get more than average SAT scores - if not ace. They may be poor test takers but certainly not test dumbos. So one with POOR scores is not likely to write FOUR essays. Perhaps, only Indian/Chinese kids from INDIA/CHINA might succeed by letting their parents, hired professionals to write for them.

They just have to make a B+ on the essays and they need not *ace* the SAT. It's just a different bar.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Petrichor wrote:

Rishi wrote:
If a kid is really capable of writing research papers on those arcane scientific or literary and  historical topics, he or she would have aced the SAT.

I disagree. timed standardized tests demand a different level of gaming the system than writing 10000-word essays. The issue which was already pointed out in the article is about academic honesty - it is difficult to eliminate the suspicion of adult-help at the margins.

A student capable of writing 4 essays of 1000 words on innovative ideas will certainly get more than average SAT scores - if not ace. They may be poor test takers but certainly not test dumbos. So one with POOR scores is not likely to write FOUR essays. Perhaps, only Indian/Chinese kids from INDIA/CHINA might succeed by letting their parents, hired professionals to write for them.

exactly. i also know Spanish kids whose parents did their hmwk for them. standardized exams are much more fairer than these essay-writing contests. same with the intel science fair, some of the semis don't deserve to be there.