The foundations of education are continuing to crack. Never mind the snowflake squalls college campuses nationwide are having to weather. Forget the wellspring of rich people springing college admissions for their less-than-Mensa material offspring.
In come the architects of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT for the Woke), who are going to start assigning an “adversity score” to high school students who take the exam. According to the Wall Street Journal, the idea is to “capture the social and economic background of each student as schools evaluate them for admission.”
The test is intended to assess students’ readiness for college. Given the drama occurring on the campuses of a large number of major universities (looking at you, USC), the testing might be better utilized if given to the Admissions Department.
To recap: the SAT, administered by a private organization ominously titled the “College Board,” founded in 1926, is going to unravel years of progress in erasing divisions according to race, gender and economic status in order to score students on their income and upbringing. Check your privilege at the…at the…square on page six. Be sure to use a number two pencil.
As usual with “innovations,” the Adversity Score began as a research study by The Board (cue Illuminati music) three years ago before being put in wider circulation.
The Score (kind of like “The Secret,” except not as touchy-feely) is based on neighborhood environment, high school environment and family environment.
What does it say about us as a nation when some students still get bullied at school for possessing the very same traits these eggheads (I wasn’t allowed to say ***hats) are planning to use to determine whether or not a kid deserves to get into college.
Of course, the students won’t be given their adversity scores. Only college admissions officers will see the numbers when reviewing their applications. Like the unseen Hand on High, meting out admissions by committee. That always goes well.
So, as the son of a less than affluent family who worked any job they could (including wearing a gorilla suit for a theatre promotion) to keep a roof over our head, a family that had to shut off every section of the house except for two rooms to conserve heat in the winter, a family who slept in the car to save money in order to see a Florida beach for a summer vacation, how many Adversity Points do I receive?
I forgot to mention I was bullied at school and in my neighborhood through Sophomore year of high school. I might be as dumb as a sack of hammers but give me my Moxie Points and off to Advanced Physics I go!
Having always been of the opinion that college entrance should be decided on the basis of merit, not wealth or connections, I naively trundled through my days, blissfully unaware that the testing system is just as politicized and monetized as every other aspect of life. You would have thought I’d have learned by now. Adversity Points off for gullibility.