Links for 2/9/11

Jonathan Haidt via JOHN TIERNEY

“Anywhere in the world that social psychologists see women or minorities underrepresented by a factor of two or three, our minds jump to discrimination as the explanation,” said Dr. Haidt, who called himself a longtime liberal turned centrist. “But when we find out that conservatives are underrepresented among us by a factor of more than 100, suddenly everyone finds it quite easy to generate alternate explanations.”…

John Lachs

There is a simple way to judge whether the old or the new idea of the university prevails in an institution. If education is primarily a business, managers hire the faculty. If universities are communities of students and scholars, faculty members hire the managers. The difference between the two strategies is immense, because it determines the locus of power...

Joseph A. Alutto

Until now, we have failed to develop a valid, reliable assessment process. This is a critical failing…

SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY

the Russian version of the American S.A.T. has gathered a number of critics and provoked angry reactions…

Before the E.G.E. was introduced, outright bribes to get into universities, which are, among other things, an outlet for young men to avoid military service, were widely acknowledged.
Now, critics say, corruption has shifted into the schools. Incidents have been reported by the government and in the news media of students cheating or teachers and administrators disseminating or altering test results…