The general argument made by Ross Douthat in his work is that the withdrawal of standardized testing for college admissions could end meritocracy in higher education. More specifically, he argues that more than eighty percent of four-year colleges are not requiring the SAT or ACT scores, Douthat asserts that the transformation of universities from finishing schools for the wealthy into meritocracies was driven by the SAT and ACT. He writes that lower-class students might have depended on the standardized tests to get a boost out of their lousy school or to prove themselves, but now, without the standardized tests, they lack the support they need. In this passage, the author suggests that upper-class students are beneficiaries of the decline in the SAT, while …show more content…
The author uses rhetorical strategies such as pathos and compare-and-contrast to discuss the conflicts of eliminating standardized testing in most four-year university applications. Ross Douthat utilizes pathos to evoke emotional responses to the image of social inequality by emphasizing the experience of low-income students. The author discussed that higher-class students benefit from declining standardized testing, but lower-income students who are “trying to climb could lose a crucial ladder” (Douthat 5). This invokes a sense of sympathy by imagining a student not being able to get into the university they want just because they are not wealthy. He uses pathos so the reader can have an emotional response to the struggle of lower-income students who will lose an advantage they might have had. Ross Douthat also uses compare-and-contrast to highlight different viewpoints on the role of standardized testing in admissions. The author references the standard views of meritocracy skeptics and critics of the
Steve Sheinkin, award-winning author, in his novel Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (2012) addresses the topic of nuclear war and proves that no matter what actions are taken (during war) there will be negative outcomes by depicting the characters with anxiety, describing horror-filled battle scenes and revealing the thirst for power during these times. Sheinkin supports his claim by using memorable moments in the novel such as when the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and the entire city is close to being wiped out; also when Stalin is upset that the Americans completed the atomic bomb which leads to another race of building upwards
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
In Florence Kelley's speech to the people attending the NAWSA convention, she uses emotional appeal to motivate her audience to convince their male counterparts to legalize voting for women, and also to persuade the males to help put an end to child labor.
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the fight for equal and just treatment for both women and children was one of the most historically prominent movements in America. Courageous women everywhere fought, protested and petitioned with the hope that they would achieve equal rights and better treatment for all, especially children. One of these women is known as Florence Kelley. On July 22, 1905, Kelley made her mark on the nation when she delivered a speech before the National American Woman Suffrage Association, raising awareness of the cruel truth of the severity behind child labor through the use of repetition, imagery and oxymorons.
The ability for all children from varying walks of life to receive a well-rounded education in America has become nothing more than a myth. In excerpt “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch argues the government’s fanatical obsession with data based on test scores has ruined the education system across the country (107). In their eyes, students have faded from their eyes as individual hopefully, creative and full of spirit, and have become statistics on a data sheet, percentages on a pie chart, and numbers calculated to show the intelligence they have from filling out bubbles in a booklet. In order for schools to be able to provide a liberal education, they need the proper funding, which comes from the testing.
The movie, “The Great Debaters” (2007), was both directed and starred by, Denzel Washington who acted as Melvin Tolson, English and Speech Professor of Wiley College. Prior to this film’s production, many were not knowledgeable of Wiley College or its debating team. However, transformation took place when Melvin coached a four (4) member debate team of Wiley College into victory. One of the most memorable event was the moment Wiley College argued their opponent Oklahoma City College in scene two (2) of the film. During this debate, Wiley College was represented by the first female debater ever been on the school’s debating team, Samantha Booke along with her other team members. They argued in support of the moot, “Negro’s should be admitted to State Universities.”
Does the analysis of an article reveal the hidden messages? The answer is yes, by searching through the text, it is possible to find out so much. With the use of different analyzing techniques the hidden messages will be revealed. This is done by examining the text in sections to find different techniques such as tone, repetition, pathos,and word choice.
O’Rourke also appeals to ethos by providing key evidence of how standardized test scores in America have not improved despite an increase in spending per pupil. He cites the NAEP in this statement: “SAT scores in 1970 averaged 537 in reading and 512 in math, and 38 years later the scores were 502 and 515,” (O’Rourke). O’Rourke presents this evidence to
A scholarly journal written by an anonymous author sheds light on the importance of standardized testing by showing its efficiency in higher level education. This article provides a solid counterargument for the use of standardized tests which is standardized tests being a good source of predicting grades throughout college as well as whether students will stay long enough to graduate. It is also able to establish that the SAT is effective in forecasting a grade-point average through the fourth year as well as predicting students study habits. The
Tests have been taken and the results are shown to be biased towards students from wealthy areas, most likely because they can afford more educational resources then students from poor areas. “The private test preparation market for the SAT and the ACT is a $2 billion-a-year industry in the U.S. “(Westervelt ,Eric ). Families living in suburban neighborhoods typically have a higher income than those living in urban neighborhoods, which enables them to have more resources. This is an unfair advantage because not every student is being set up for success.
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
The American Revolution was lost because of British operational and strategic mistakes leading up to and persisting throughout the war. As a direct result of over confidence in faulty logic, failed strategies, and logistical miscalculations, the British inadvertently gave the American rebels not only the political ammunition needed to ignite and sustain the rebellion but ample amounts of time to adapt, regroup and ultimately to protract the war a favorable conclusion. The first mistake that the British made was arriving at the misguided conclusion that the war would easily be won. The majority of the British government was consistently under the false assumption that the rebellion in the colonies was an isolated issue comprised of small sects
In the early 1930s, James B. Conant, president of Harvard University, decided to develop a test for admissions, that was reliable way to measure student achievement without taking into consideration who the test taker was or what background they came from. According to Kevin Finneran, editor of Issues in Science & Technology, Conant believed that through administering the same test to all applicants for admission, factors such as family wealth, which private or elite academy the student may have attended, and any benefits their attendance would bring to the university would be removed from the decision making process. While his colleagues believe this would provide a real excuse for excluding those they did not particularly want entering Harvard, they were soon proved wrong as an increasing number of underprivileged students began scoring very high on tests and ultimately earning acceptance into the university.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment’s 2012 results (PISA), the United States has ranked 30th in comparison to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) participating countries. The United States, a country that has once held the ideal for educational standards, has now ranked just slightly above other countries that are just being developed. By using high-stakes test statistics to drive America’s educational standards, classrooms are beginning to lose their meaning of helping students to learn and grow as individuals. Because of classrooms just teaching the test are beginning to lose the meaning of helping students to learn and grow as individuals, results of high stakes testing which can be affected by the minutest details, are not a reasonable way to judge overall student competency; a better alternative would be by performance based assessments. “Test developers are obliged to create a series of one-size-fits-all assessments. But, as most of us know from attempting to wear one-size-fits-all garments, sometimes one size really can’t fit all.” (Popham, James W.). High stakes tests are not a reasonable way to judge overall student competency because educators can not expect to have accurate and precise results in just one sitting for 12 years of learning. Although tests pose an important role in education, they should not be given such high stakes of determining if a student should be rejected from a college “based solely on the fact that their score wasn’t high enough” (Stake, Robert.).