The flight from bright: Dartmouth wants nice MBA students

The retreat from intelligence as a qualification for entrance into American universities continues. We have already seen the University of Chicago join the ranks of test-optional colleges and it seems that for many years Harvard has been discriminating against prospective Asian students who supposedly lack the qualities of grit, humour, sensitivity, kindness, courage, and leadership that are necessary to study physics or do research in economics.

There has been a lot of indignation about the implication that Harvard should actually think that Asians were uniquely lacking in humour and grit and so on.

But even if Asians were lacking in these qualities that is surely no reason to deny them admission to elite institutions if they have the ability to perform at the highest intellectual level. Sensitivity, kindness and a sense of humour etc are no doubt desirable but they are highly subjective, culture specific, difficult to operationalise and almost impossible to assess with any degree of validity. They also could have a disparate impact on racial, gender and ethnic groups.

Now Dartmouth College is going down the same path. What do you need to get into the Tuck School of Business?

"True to the school’s long-held reputation for being applicant-friendly and transparent in its admissions process, the new, simplified criteria comprise four attributes reflective of successful Tuck students: smart, nice, accomplished, and aware."

I doubt that Dartmouth will be the only place to admit students because they are nice, or good at pretending to be nice or able to afford niceness trainers. And how will niceness be assessed?

There will be an essay: "Tuck students are nice, and invest generously in one another's success. Share an example of how you have helped someone else succeed. (500 words)."

Referees will be asked: "Tuck student are nice. Please  comment on how the candidate interacts with others including when the interaction is difficult or challenging."

Soon no doubt we will hear demands for niceness of students to be included as in indicator in university rankings. There will be compulsory workshops on how to confront the nastiness within. Studies will show that niceness is an essential attribute for success in research, business, sport, war and journalism and that it is something in which ciswhitestraightmales, especially those not differently abled, are desperately deficient.

And we are likely to see articles wondering why Asian universities are mysteriously overtaking the West in anything based on cognitive skills. 

My article in University World News can be accessed here. Comments can be made at this blog. GLOBAL How should rankings assess teaching and learning? Richard Holmes20 July 2018 Issue No:515

Chicago goes test-optional

The University of Chicago has gone test-optional. Prospective students will no longer be required to submit their SAT or ACT scores when applying, although probably most will continue to do so.

Many colleges in the US have done this already and candidates who choose not to submit test scores are admitted on the basis of high school grades, perceived personal attributes, recommendations, essays, extra-curricular activities and/or membership of a valued group. Most of these, but not all, appear to be small liberal arts colleges. Chicago is the first major US research university to do so but is unlikely to be the last.

A common justification is that dropping the test requirement allows universities to recruit students from disadvantaged or underrepresented groups who may not do well on standardised tests. Perhaps it does but there is also a less altruistic reason. Going test-optional might help Chicago to maintain or even improve its position in the US News rankings while allowing the overall academic ability of its students to slide.

If the students who choose not to submit test scores are scoring below average then the overall test scores will rise which will improve Chicago's standing in the rankings. Apparently it is US News policy to avoid penalising institutions as long as 75% of the incoming class submit their scores. Also, if they get more applicants then the admission rate goes down and the university appears more selective. All in all, it looks like a win-win situation. But as more students are selected because they can produce a two minute video, are members of a protected group, or voice support for current orthodoxies, overall academic quality will gradually drift downwards. 

There are signs that higher education in the West is moving away from the objective standardised testing of academic ability. It is likely that those admitted because they are likeable or passionate, show leadership qualities or bring new perspectives to the classroom will find the cold realities of advanced physics or philosophy frustrating and will demand that standards be adjusted to accommodate them.

Meanwhile the long slow convergence of America and China will continue. China is now level with the US for many measures of research output and parity in quality will  probably come soon. If American schools abandon the rigorous selection of students, teachers and researchers they are likely to fall behind.