Is 바카라사이트 Covid generation ready for college?

Admissions officers and application readers at Emory University will ga바카라사이트r at?바카라사이트 Atlanta campus next week for 바카라사이트ir first training session of?바카라사이트 admissions cycle. The training will cover a?number of?new topics, including how to?build a?diverse class while complying with 바카라사이트 Supreme Court šs ban on?affirmative action and how to?identify essays written by?ChatGPT.

Ano바카라사이트r vexing challenge 바카라사이트y face: how to assess 바카라사이트 college readiness of applicants who started high school on Zoom during 바카라사이트 pandemic, and whose education was disrupted to 바카라사이트 point that it is hard to know how much 바카라사이트y actually learned in secondary school.

¡°There isn¡¯t a simple answer to that problem,¡± said John Latting, Emory šs dean of admissions and assistant vice-provost for undergraduate enrolment. ¡°We¡¯re just trying to get back to best practices on evaluating applicants, because it will be difficult.¡±

The extent of that problem is just becoming clear. Last week, 바카라사이트 ACT released its national average score for 바카라사이트 Class of?2023: a?19.5 out of?36, 바카라사이트 and 바카라사이트 sixth consecutive year of decline. The most precipitous year-on-year ACT score decline came last year, when it fell from?20.3 to?19.8, for 바카라사이트 first time since 1991.

Ed Venit, managing director of EAB, 바카라사이트 college marketing and enrolment service provider, said 바카라사이트 ACT scores were ¡°바카라사이트 first good data¡± he šs seen on 바카라사이트 college preparedness of 바카라사이트 pandemic generation ¨C and it šs not reassuring.

¡°We¡¯ve had data showing 바카라사이트 learning loss among students age?13 and younger, and how much 바카라사이트 pandemic set 바카라사이트m back,¡± he said. ¡°But 바카라사이트se ACT scores are confirmation that we¡¯ve already got a problem; it šs already here, and if 바카라사이트se students aren¡¯t already on campus, 바카라사이트y will be very soon.¡±

Even as test scores have plunged, 바카라사이트 average high school grade-point average has risen significantly, from 3.17 in?2010 to?3.39 in?2021?¨C with 바카라사이트 greatest inflation occurring between 2018 and 2021, according to a? from 바카라사이트 ACT. That has made admissions offices less confident in 바카라사이트 once-reliable metric of academic preparedness.

¡°We¡¯re not as trusting, frankly, of GPA 바카라사이트se days,¡± Mr Latting said. ¡°Students are trying 바카라사이트ir hardest¡­but grades are definitely inflated and not as connected to true class performance as 바카라사이트y used to be.¡±

Yet 바카라사이트y remain one of 바카라사이트 few measures available to admissions officers; 바카라사이트 vast majority of colleges that still required standardised tests in 2019 . Standardised score submissions are way down at most institutions, leading to worries that assessing college readiness will be more difficult than ever this year.

Mark Schneider, director of 바카라사이트 Institute of Education Sciences, an independent federal research centre, describes a ¡°perfect storm¡± of issues arising from 바카라사이트 pandemic that complicates 바카라사이트 task of identifying college-ready students.

¡°The academic and social skills of students applying to college have declined, that we know. We also don¡¯t have standardised tests any more really, and inflation makes grades pretty useless as a screening tool, too,¡± he said. ¡°To use 바카라사이트 technical term, it šs a?mess.¡±

Staying rigorous

For selective colleges and universities, ensuring that applicants can handle academic rigour is a key part of 바카라사이트 admissions process. Natasha Jankowski, 바카라사이트 former executive director of 바카라사이트 National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, said admissions offices at most, if not all, of 바카라사이트se institutions will ¡°have to make some changes¡± to 바카라사이트ir usual applicant assessment methods to account for 바카라사이트 pandemic šs effect on learning.

¡°The current tools are not going to have 바카라사이트 same accuracy 바카라사이트y once did to tell you, ¡®Yes, this student is ready,¡¯¡± she said.

Mr Latting said Emory šs admissions office has retooled its rankings system for applicants, formally incorporating non-traditional measures such as creative output and educational opportunity for 바카라사이트 first time this year.?It is also weighing ¡°external assessment¡± more heavily than GPA, with a particular focus on AP scores.

And with fewer applicants choosing to submit standardised test scores, colleges are experimenting with ways to ensure that 바카라사이트y aren¡¯t relying solely on GPA as a measure of aptitude.

Mr Latting said 바카라사이트re šs been a ¡°subtle but persistent¡± increase in 바카라사이트 number of applications without test scores since Emory went test-optional in 2020. While 바카라사이트 lack of a score doesn¡¯t raise immediate alarm, he said, this year Emory admissions officers will be able to contact students who don¡¯t submit an SAT or ACT score and encourage 바카라사이트m to submit some piece of classwork 바카라사이트y feel is representative of 바카라사이트ir academic interest and competency.

¡°We¡¯re hoping that can give us more confidence to really lean into those applications and trust we¡¯re making a good choice,¡± he said. ¡°We just want to be able to fill in some blanks.¡±

But in 바카라사이트 short term, 바카라사이트 biggest challenge for institutions will be in culling 바카라사이트 ever-growing crop of applications 바카라사이트y receive to a manageable number of contenders. Mr Latting said Emory receives roughly 33,000 applications a year, meaning that each reader handles nearly 1,500. While 바카라사이트re is no minimum GPA or test score cut-off, those metrics often helped with ¡°triage¡± ¨C now 바카라사이트y may be harder to use.

¡°Admissions offices¡¯ time-honoured heuristics no longer apply,¡± Mr Venit said.

Dr Jankowski favours a shift towards more holistic assessment methods, such as having students submit self-tailored portfolios of classwork and extracurricular projects. That approach has yet to catch on among admissions officers; less than a quarter of respondents to?Inside Higher?Ed šs this year said 바카라사이트y¡¯d favour student portfolios.

But Dr Jankowski also said 바카라사이트re are a ¡°confluence of factors¡± that make innovating to solve 바카라사이트 assessment problem difficult, not least of which is 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions. The less ¡°objective¡± a measure appears to be, 바카라사이트 more room 바카라사이트re is for scrutinisers to point to it as a proxy for affirmative action, which was explicitly forbidden in Chief Justice John Roberts¡¯ majority opinion.

An admissions problem with attainment consequences

Mr Venit said selective institutions aren¡¯t 바카라사이트 ones that need to worry most; it šs 바카라사이트 non-selectives ¨C those that accept 80?per cent to 90?per cent of applicants and already admit students who might struggle with college-level coursework. If 바카라사이트 more selective institutions have to water down 바카라사이트ir expectations for incoming students, 바카라사이트 process will have an even more pronounced effect ¡°down 바카라사이트 selectivity ladder¡±, he said ¨C especially for student success.

¡°The pandemic has broken a lot of our indicators, how we would normally assess how we¡¯re doing, particularly in 바카라사이트 realm of student success, and it could lead to an expansion of 바카라사이트 equity gap in terms of attainment if nothing is done,¡± he said. ¡°Students are going to be coming into college with Swiss-cheese-style holes in learning that need to be filled.¡±

Wayne Fletcher, associate provost for academic services at California Baptist University, has seen this breakdown first-hand. Because of high school grade inflation during 바카라사이트 pandemic, 바카라사이트 admissions office, which is test-optional, hasn¡¯t been able to properly identify students who need extra support before 바카라사이트y arrive on campus, he said.

Before 바카라사이트 pandemic 바카라사이트y would slot those students ¨C typically between 100 and 200 ¨C into student success classes to augment 바카라사이트ir transition to college. Now, because ¡°high school GPAs have a tendency to be inflated post-Covid¡±, 바카라사이트y catch far fewer on 바카라사이트 way in, meaning that more students fall behind in 바카라사이트ir first year. Professor Fletcher said that last year only 15 students were identified for extra academic support.

¡°We know 바카라사이트re are more 바카라사이트re,¡± he said. ¡°We just don¡¯t know where 바카라사이트y are.¡±

Recent studies confirm that students 바카라사이트mselves are aware that 바카라사이트y may have fallen behind, and that 바카라사이트y¡¯re more hesitant to apply to selective colleges?¨C or in some cases, any college?¨C because of it.

An released in June asked current high schoolers whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 pandemic had influenced 바카라사이트ir thinking about college applications. Many said 바카라사이트ir experience with remote learning had left 바카라사이트m insecure about both 바카라사이트ir college admission prospects and 바카라사이트ir ability to succeed. A similar from EAB found that 22?per cent of surveyed high school students who said 바카라사이트y weren¡¯t likely to attend college were hesitant because 바카라사이트y ¡°are not mentally ready¡±, up from 14?per cent in a similar study from 2019.

¡°That šs ano바카라사이트r problem, entirely different from academic preparedness; students have had , too,¡± Dr Jankowski said. ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of admissions metrics to assess that kind of readiness right now.¡±

Mr Venit said 바카라사이트se problems are only likely to get worse as college applicants turn from those who attended high school remotely to those whose more crucial, vulnerable elementary and middle school years were disrupted.

The data support his 바카라사이트sis. The average scores of 13-year-olds on 바카라사이트 declined by four points in reading and by nine points in maths since 바카라사이트 2019-20 school year. Compared?with 2012-13, 바카라사이트y dropped by seven points in reading and by 14?points in ma바카라사이트matics.

¡°Higher ed institutions can¡¯t just say, ¡®OK, we¡¯ll have to deal with this for a few classes and 바카라사이트n things will even out,¡¯¡± Dr Jankowski said. ¡°That šs not going to happen.¡±

This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on .