Standardized testing (and its evil offspring, IQ testing) are an expression of people’s desire to determine other peoples’ worth without having to actually get to know them. It’s pervasive, and unfortunately it’s better than some alternatives because it turns out that a lot of people will simply reject a client because of their skin color, gender, attractiveness, etc. In other words, standardized testing may suck but it’s not as bad as letting other people make hiring/admission decisions.
The whole topic is endlessly depressing. I suppose it’s better than nothing, but it just spawns a gigantic game of cheating, preparing/cramming, and studying to the test. Those practices, naturally, benefit the better-funded more than the more “intelligent” or the merely diligent. But that’s hardly the worst of it. I don’t think I can scream “burn it all to the ground!” without a replacement; the answer I’d suggest, which is a tiered performance evaluation similar to an apprenticeship is too expensive.
To me, hiring processes and admissions processes presuppose the value proposition backwards: having a job at this company is something you should aspire to, rather than that this company ought to be happy to have a good employee. And, of course, a university should be happy to find a good student, rather than someone who had good credentials on the rowing team, etc. None of this is realistic, though: universities ought to be happy if they get students who are not raving racists or fascists, who descended from a wealthy donor.
The worst argument – the very worst – is this one: [guard]
One of Japan’s most prestigious medical schools has admitted deliberately altering entrance exam scores for more than a decade to restrict the number of female students and ensure more men became doctors.
Because women get pregnant, see? The presupposition being that Japanese men, apparently, cannot be arsed to help a woman with reproductive duty, and that women are unable to handle the difficulty of juggling kids and work.
It said similar manipulations had occurred for years because the school wanted fewer female doctors, since it anticipated they would shorten or halt their careers after having children.
They could have factored in that female doctors are less likely to trigger massive sexual harassment lawsuits, or to kill or assault someone. That’s just statistics, folks.
They had a formula:
The investigation found that in this year’s entrance exams the school reduced all applicants’ first-stage test scores by 20% and then added at least 20 points for male applicants, except those who had previously failed the test at least four times.
How did this all come to light? I bet if you think for a fraction of a second, you’ll be able to guess. But let me spoil it for you:
The manipulation was revealed during an investigation into the alleged “backdoor entry” of an education ministry bureaucrat’s son in exchange for favourable treatment for the school in obtaining research funds. The bureaucrat and the former head of the school have been charged with bribery.
I wonder if universities will ever catch on and down-rate the applications of rich kids, because they are more likely to be corrupt or corruptable, because of their parenting. Never mind leaving school to have kids: corruption scandals really hurt your precious university’s precious reputation. So suppose you have a student who becomes a doctor but takes a few months maternity leave – how exactly does that damage the university? You just put someone else’s butt (perhaps someone with rowing credentials or a cabinet minister’s son!) in that seat and carry on. And if they’re in the work force and decide to take maternity leave, that’s not the university’s business – it’s between the employee and their employer.
In case you’re wondering (and I know you’re not) why there aren’t more women in Japanese medicine, well, perhaps now you have an answer.
The lawyers also said that the university’s former chairman and president had received money from the parents of applicants whose entrance exam scores were padded, according to Kyodo.
There was an ancient Japanese custom in which someone who fucked up really badly would kill themself by shoving a sword into their abdomen and slicing themselves open. But seppuku was tied to class/caste; for these guys maybe the Yakuza custom, of apologizing by cutting off a finger, would be better suited.
A while ago I read Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil in which she explores how some big data algorithms are increasingly used in ways that reinforce preexisting inequality. In her book she gave multiple case studies where standardized testing was worse than actually interviewing people.
Let’s imagine a dark-skinned person is looking for a job. They go to a job interview and get refused due to their skin color. Firstly, they can sue the business that refused to hire them. Secondly, they can go look for a job somewhere else until they are lucky to find some other employer who isn’t a racist asshole.
Now let’s imagine that a person gets refused due to scoring poorly in some standardized test. Firstly, they won’t even find out why they got refused. The algorithm that scored their questionnaire is not transparent at all. Even the human resources people at that business will have no clue why some person scored poorly and is unfit for hiring. Secondly, if this is some standardized test, then many businesses will be using it, thus the same person will get declined again and again due to scoring poorly each time.
Anyway, I disagree with your claim that “standardized testing may suck but it’s not as bad as letting other people make hiring/admission decisions.” It depends on how some standardized test was created, who made it, and how good or bad it is. Some standardized tests are much worse than others. And many of them serve to further reinforce preexisting inequality. Of course, it also depends on people who make the hiring/admission decisions in some institution (some of them are much more prejudiced than others).
Men become parents too, some of them decide to be stay-at-home dads. It would be more logical to only allow students who can provide a doctor’s signed paper assuring the university that some potential student is either infertile or has gotten themselves sterilized. But wait, that wouldn’t work either—some infertile people decide to adopt children. Besides, a doctor’s career can be stopped by all sorts of reasons. What about a potential student who displays too much interest in knives and swords? What if this person at some point decides to switch careers and start forging blades instead?
Damn, I hate this argument so much. When somebody argues that a woman shouldn’t be educated or hired due to the possibility that she might later decide to become a stay-at-home mother, this isn’t even a rational argument. It’s just a poor excuse for blatantly transparent misogyny.
I dropped almost 5 per cent the second time I took the SAT. I don’t think I became 5% dumber in a year and a half.
This was in the news recently: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/19/women-outperform-men-after-japan-medical-school-stops-rigging-exam-scores
Why is it always assumed that women will have children? Many women I know, including myself, chose not to become parents, at least to anything with less than 4 feet.
One of my pet peeves is when I’ve told someone I don’t have kids and they make sad faces at me and say “Oh, I’m sorry,” as if I must be shattered. I’ve given up trying to explain it. The people who make that face don’t want to understand. They are too invested in the idea of being parents. Now, I just smile and say “it’s all good” and politely walk away.
voyager @#4
Yeah, that sucks. You have my sympathy.
I’m 27 right now, so the version I get is, “When will you get married and have kids?” If I dare to answer “never,” I tend to get some pretty impolite comments about how I must be cold, evil, and loveless.
I have been trying to get myself sterilized for over a year now. Today I got kicked out from yet another surgeon’s office. The first time a doctor refused me the surgery, I felt angry and frustrated, I was pissed off about the world being so damn unfair. I at least felt something. Today I no longer felt anything, just dull emptiness. I must have gotten used to this.
While waiting outside the doctor’s office, I started chatting with a woman who also needed some, probably different, surgery. She seemed nervous about it and asked me whether I have heard any reviews about this surgeon. My doctor’s appointment was right before hers, so when I exited the doctor’s office she asked me how it went. For a split second I hesitated about telling her the truth about the surgery I needed, fearing that I might get more condemnation. Ultimately, I told her everything about what I needed and what words the doctor used to kick me out of his office. It was OK, she was supportive and wished me luck. As I was telling her all this, I was laughing. She commented on how it’s impressive that I can be so optimistic given my track record of repeatedly getting kicked out of doctor’s offices. The thing is, I’m not optimistic, I’m desperate enough that have lost any ability to feel emotions about this problem. I simply know that crying wouldn’t help with my problem. Thus I just have to sign up for another appointment with another doctor and hope that maybe next time I will accidentally run into a doctor who isn’t an asshole.
At least this time there’s also some good news—the doctor made the mistake of giving me a written refusal. Last time I got kicked out verbally and couldn’t even prove that I have been to a doctor and requested a surgery. In my country there are some anti-discrimination laws, so I can now write some complaint letters. Worst case scenario—I can sue the hospital now that a have a written refusal.
@ Andreas,
What a kick in the head. I’m sorry you were refused again, but maybe having it in writing will prove useful. It sounds as if there may be avenues of appeal open to you and and hopefully they won’t drag on.
I was 27 and unmarried the first time I asked for a tubal ligation. My family doctor refused to even refer me to a surgeon, telling me to wait until I was over 30. He also told me that my future husband might want a say in the matter. Sheesh! I wasn’t even married and I needed a husband’s consent. I was angry about that for a long time. I finally had the surgery done when I was 34. I was newly married at the time and the surgeon asked my husband if he was in agreement with my decision. That pissed me off, too.
voyager @#6
I actually got surprisingly lucky with my family doctor. She only seemed a bit surprised and didn’t say anything negative at all.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t make a difference. I my case, I actually don’t need a referral to get an appointment scheduled with a surgeon. The law says that anybody can schedule a gynecologist appointment at any time without a referral (for most other doctors I would need a referral, gynecologists are pretty much the only exception). A surgeon who performs gynecological surgeries is still officially called “a gynecologist,” thus there’s no need for referrals.
So here’s what I have been doing for the last year:
1. Look online for clinics and hospitals that offer hysterectomies;
2. Pick at random some surgeon who works at one of those hospitals and schedule an appointment;
3. Wait for at least three weeks until the date of my appointment (there are always long waiting queues);
4. Drive to the clinic;
5. Pay for the doctor’s visit;
6. Enter the doctor’s office, tell them what I need, get told to go away.
7. Go back to step two. Despite all the wasted time and money, I’m back exactly where I started. I have to find another doctor, try again, hoping for better luck. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.
By the way, local laws say that anybody who is at least 25 years old can request a voluntary sterilization. European Union human rights court has decided that people with gender dysphoria can get their bodies surgically altered. Nonetheless, for some odd reason, a bunch of patronizing doctors have decided to discriminate me. On top of that, I have a suspicion that men who want vasectomies don’t experience the same shit I’m going through.