The use of race-sensitive criteria in admissions continues to be controversial, and critics have leveled three basic charges against it. For one, opponents say the practice constitutes reverse discrimination, lowering the chance of admission for better-qualified white students. They also contend that it creates a mismatch between the skills of…

Educational programs for gifted students face both philosophical and practical challenges from egalitarians. Some object that gifted schools inherently undermine a commitment to equality in education, while others observe that schools for talented students cater to privileged youth and effectively discriminate against disadvantaged minorities.…

Last week the Board of Regents of the University of California tabled a faculty proposal to broaden the pool of applicants eligible for admission to the 10 campuses in the University of California system. The regents took the action to allow the university's new president, Mark G. Yudof, as well as regents who were uncertain about the proposal,…

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores still wield a mighty force in American culture and in the psyches of teenagers, even though 760 American colleges and universities have made standardized testing an optional part of the admissions process. Three years ago, after the new writing portion of the SAT was unveiled, the author's college, the College…

Atkinson and Geiser (2009) make a strong argument for moving to a new form of college admissions testing using curriculum-based achievement tests. In making their case, however, they exaggerate the weaknesses of current tests such as the ACT and SAT by minimizing these tests' predictive utility and claiming a stronger relationship to socioeconomic…

In this article, the author discusses the issue surrounding the blanket rejection of career-school credits by traditional schools. Whether they attend a career college, community college, online college, or brick-and-mortar university, many Americans find that higher education has become a "grab and go" proposition. To them, attending multiple…

Critics of school voucher programs argue that private schools that receive taxpayer dollars should be held accountable to the same standards as public schools. School choice supporters counter that private schools should be left alone to answer to the parents of their students. The authors advocate for a re-visit to the discussion of…

It has been generally accepted that teaching does not meet the criteria of a profession, at least as exemplified by the more mature professions of medicine and law (Abbott, 1988; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002; Etzioni, 1969; Howsam, Corrigan, Denemark, & Nash, 1976). Teaching is most often referred to as a semiprofession; Myers's (2008 [this…

The academic performance consequences of relying solely on non-cognitive factors for selecting applicants above a GPA and MCAT threshold have not been fully considered in the literature. This commentary considers the impact of using a "threshold approach" on academic performance as assessed with the USMLE Step 1.

Suggests some new admission criteria after arguing that present standards for admission to teacher education programs are generally inadequate to assure that even a high-quality program will produce successful teachers. (Author/IRT)

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst department of sociology offers a unique graduate program with faculty and students working together to produce mutually-authored articles, monographs, and books. Many doctoral dissertations are on applied topics in social policy and evaluation research. Graduates have been well placed in academia and other…

Presents six responses to an article in the same issue of this journal. Recommends closer contact between baccalaureate institutions and doctoral programs. Expresses a "hope for the new" in the form of more inventive candidates for assistant professorships. States that the conventional admissions process does not work as well for…

Outlines the benefits individual students experience at the Alternative Learning Center in Evergreen, Washington. An important element in the successful operation of a school of choice is the admissions procedure. To provide a clear and informed decision in school choice this school's admission procedure includes information, screening, and…

Explains the history and orientation of Berkeley's graduate program in sociology which leans more toward the European than the U.S. tradition of postgraduate education. The doctoral student is most likely the principal architect of the research design and sole collector of primary data for the dissertation. The program emphasizes negotiation and a…

The University of California at Los Angeles sociology department stands out as a pluralistic community that fosters interaction, communication, and mutual understanding. Leading ethnographers and survey researchers work side by side; noted Marxists, functionalists, and phenomenologists participate in the same colloquia. The department has strong…