re: Senate approves TOPS changes

I hate to be a dick, but the old "I don't test well" is mostly a crock of shite. They ask multiple choice questions based on information a college student will need to know. If you don't get a good score it is because you don't know the information, nothing more, nothing less.

My sister had the highest GPA in my family but the lowest ACT score. Her GPA was inflated due to things like homework grades, participation grades, grades for taking notes, etc. However, when it came time to assess her knowledge she wasn't nearly as high as her GPA would suggest and that is because she memorized information more than she actually knew it.

I've never met an intelligent kid who scored poorly on the ACT. If you know it, you know it. If you don't, the ACT will be your undoing.

quote:

---

I've never met an intelligent kid who scored poorly on the ACT. If you know it, you know it. If you don't, the ACT will be your undoing.

---

Exactly.

It reminds me of what my parents used to tell me as a kid - "Slackster, we're not money rich, but we're rich in other ways."

I love my family, and they love me, but either you're rich or you're not.

I forget which comedian has a stand up routine about standardized tests but it is completely accurate. Maybe it's Tosh, regardless, he basically calls people out and says if you're "smart but not a good test taker" then you're not really smart, are you?

The average ACT & GPA for a TOPS recipient is 24 and 3.35

The average ACT & GPA for the ones who lose it is 22.9 and 3.1.

The lower kids are the one losing it, so there's the money wasters. Enforcing payback for losing it would cut cost by 13%.

Over 50% are in the lowest tier of tops, so that says that the award is going to the wrong place.

My sister isn't good at standardized tests, so I know what he means. She finished high school with a 3.75 taking a full load of AP classes, and could only get a 26 IIRC. She is now double majoring in college and has a 4.0 after 15hrs last semester and 18 this semester.

To the contrary, I got a 32 on my ACT and had a very low GPA in HS. I ended up getting kicked out of college 3 times.


If you don't have the work ethic, good standardized tests scores won't get you anywhere. Work ethic is represented by GPA in most schools.

quote:

---

I've never met an intelligent kid who scored poorly on the ACT.

---

out of curiosity, what is a bad score to you?

Takes 2 basic things to be prepared to do well in college:
1) Work ethic
and
2) Background knowledge.

GPA is about the only way to evaluate work ethic in a HS curriculum. The best GPAs are generally hard workers. That said, you can do everything asked of you and still not have been exposed to adequate background knowledge.
The standardized tests are the best way to date to evaluate what a student has been exposed to and has retained.

A 4.0 and low ACT in a school that requires little of its students isn't evidence of readiness for college as the knowledge base may be too poor to overcome. A high ACT and poor GPA shows the kid has the background but may have some work-ethic hurdles to overcome.

While either of the above kids may do great in college, the evaluation tools show that each has some issue that needs to be overcome, i.e. they are not as good an investment as the high GPA/ high ACT candidate.
Merit based scholarships such as TOPS should require well above average scores on both to maximize efficiency.

quote:

---

Epic Cajun

---

I don't see what's so funny about that. I was 4th in my high school class if I remember right and out performed the 3 ahead of me on the ACT by a fairly decent margin. All 3 have higher college GPAs than me currently although one is a music major.

Eta: nvm

quote:

---

t unless you attend a challenging high school, of which there may be 6 in the whole state

---

You're referring only to public schools, correct?