Can admissions officers truly compare levels of gratitude and responsibility among applicants in any equitable way, asks Elaine Tuttle Hansen.
If you could fix just one of the things that many people think are wrong with American education today, what would it be?
Choose revamping the college admissions system and you’d be in distinguished company. A recent report from the Harvard School of Education asserts that some feel-good changes in admissions criteria will readily solve a number of recalcitrant problems.
So why are the educators I’ve talked to -- including the parent of an A-plus student, Arabic and Chinese speaker, two-sport captain just deferred in early admissions at a top Ivy -- so outraged by this latest attempt to reform an admissions system that we all agree is doing more harm than good?
The report, “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good Through College Admissions,” proposes to de-emphasize individual performance and achievement, reduce stress on children and parents alike, graduate better citizens, and level the playing field for disadvantaged students. The magic bullets? A shift from “long brag sheets” about extracurricular activities and community service to a few lines for listing “authentically chosen” activities generating “emotional and ethical awareness and skills.” Group activities will trump individual contributions, because they develop more “gratitude and responsibility.” Experiences with “diversity” are recommended, but only those that are not “patronizing.”
While another recent admissions reform proposed by several top colleges and universities -- the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success -- immediately generated widespread critique, the report’s suggestion that we admit only the most grateful, ethical students has apparently already caught on. One of the 88 and “growing” supporters, Yale University, has decided to add a question next fall asking students “to reflect on engagement with and contribution to their family, community and/or the public good.”
It’s hard to argue against personal kindness or the common good and even harder to find a college mission statement that doesn’t already say something about making the world a better place. But a moment’s thought about implementing these particular changes invites only skepticism and confusion.
Who will guide and monitor white students to the requisite experiences with diversity, using whose definition of “patronizing”? Can admissions readers equitably compare levels of gratitude and responsibility based on an essay? Whose measures of true citizenship and emotional and ethical skills will they be instructed to use? And if we could address all these questions and actually admit only nice people, how might the culture and pedagogy of, say, Harvard University have to change to serve the social-emotional needs of a more caring student body?
Claiming these changes will benefit disadvantaged students seems especially disingenuous. Under the proposed system, for example, holding a job in order to support one’s family will be a highly prized precollege activity. But in Baltimore, where I live, it’s ludicrous to imagine students in high-poverty families, assuming they can find a job, will have the specific kind of work experiences that colleges are supposed to be looking for: ones emerging from “particular passions and interests” and providing “opportunity for reflection.”
Like many, I believe education should and can make the world a better place. But I also believe we know too little about how and when to identify, characterize, measure and develop the so-called noncognitive aspects of learning that this report asks colleges to evaluate. And I disagree that the gateway to college is the time or place to subject young people to the full impact of our ignorance about how to fairly assess things they should still be questioning and exploring -- like character, feelings, motives and values.
Ten years ago Barry Schwartz, a psychology professor at Swarthmore College, proposed a truly revolutionary solution to the problems of college admissions: a lottery system. Each college or university would identify the threshold of qualifications needed to succeed as clearly and objectively as possible, evaluate which candidates were eligible, and then roll the dice.
That’s not unlike how we do it at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, where I work. We set an eligibility threshold for exceptionally advanced precollege learning, measured by an above-level standardized test and using objective evidence (backed by experience). Anyone at or above the threshold can attend if their parents can pay; if they can’t, we offer as much financial aid as we can fund-raise and find in our budget.
Our system isn’t perfect. Measuring aptitude and potential through above-level testing works for students who have had a reasonable dose of learning opportunities, but we don’t yet know how best to characterize and identify advanced ability in kids who have been shortchanged by poverty and poor schooling. To that end, we also invest in pilot programs to expand opportunities for students from underresourced communities and in research on identification, characterization and practices for serving the needs of advanced learners from all backgrounds. A lottery system, to be equitable and inclusive, would also require significant and persistent investment in strategies to level the playing field before college.
Instead of wasting time trying to fix today’s deeply flawed admissions process, there’s a lot to be said for adopting something more like Schwartz’s lottery. We could then spend our collective time working on how to improve what we do from K-12 through graduate school to develop human potential, before and after admissions letters go out.
Bio
Elaine Tuttle Hansen is the executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, the former president of Bates College and past provost of Haverford College.
Read more by
Inside Higher Ed Careers
Browse Faculty Jobs
Browse Administrative Jobs
Browse Executive Administration Jobs
Topics
College Pages
Popular Right Now
Essay about how white male students dominate discussions sets off debate at Dickinson and beyond
Critics and defenders of affirmative action submit their closing briefs
Alaska governor proposes 41 percent cut to higher ed
Study links faculty attitudes on intelligence to student success in STEM, with large impact on minor
Appeals court rules on issue of university keeping rapist away from accuser
A Different Tone at Michigan State
Amherst Goes for Days Without Network Access
What I Would Tell My Younger Self | Confessions of a Community College Dean
Opinions on Inside Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed’s Blog U
Sign Up / Sign In
With your existing account from...
{* loginWidget *}With a traditional account...
{* #signInForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *} {* currentPassword *} {* /signInForm *}Newsletter enrollment
Existing account found
We have found an existing account for the email address.
Please sign in to update your newsletter preferences.
{* /signInForm *}Newsletter opt-out
Edit your newsletter preferences
Account Info
Sign In
Welcome back, {* welcomeName *}!
{* loginWidget *}Sign In
Welcome Back
Account Deactivated
Your account has been deactivated.
Account Reactivation Failed
Sorry, we could not verify that email address.
Email Verification Required
You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in.
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in. Already have an account? Sign In.
{* #registrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* newPassword *} {* newPasswordConfirm *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Thank You for Registering
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to verify your email address.
Create New Password
We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Create New Password
This email address was registered with a social account. We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password, which can be used in addition to your linked social providers.
{| current_emailAddress |}
{| foundExistingAccountText |} {| current_emailAddress |}.
{| existing_displayName |} - {| existing_provider |} : {| existing_siteName |} {| existing_createdDate |}
{| existing_provider_emailAddress |}
Sign In to Complete Account Merge
Resend Verification Email
Sorry, we could not verify that email address. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Change Password
Create New Password
We didn't recognize that password reset code. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resetPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent you an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Edit Your Account
Profile Photo
Linked Accounts
Link Your Accounts
This allows you to sign in to your account using that provider in the future.
Password
Deactivate Account
Change Password
Deactivate Your Account
Are you sure you want to deactivate your account? You will no longer have access to your profile.
{* deactivateAccountForm *} {* /deactivateAccountForm *}
Expand commentsHide comments — Join the conversation!