The biases in testing Essay Example for Free

The biases in testing Essay Many examples can be given for the biases in testing based on culture. Cultural biases have been in testing as long as testing has been around, whether intentional or not. With each passing year, however, it seems that cultural bias is more examined and those who create the tests are using stricter guidelines to insure that the tests they create are not biased towards one student more than another. For example, in New York City, students were given a question asking, â€Å"what were ways the British improved the lives of Africans? † it was prefaced with a passage from 1922 stating â€Å"We are endeavoring [trying] to teach the native races to conduct their own affairs with justice and humanity, and to educate them alike in letters and in industry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This testing question has a clear cultural bias and shows â€Å"outright racism† according to one parents group (Rammohan, 2007). It’s ridiculous that questions like this are still showing up in standardized testing at all. Although, imperialism should be taught, it could have been presented in a less biased way. Jay Rosner in On White Preference from The Nation states another example of bias towards white students over others, â€Å"On the October 1998 SAT, for example, every single on of the 138 questions (sixty math and seventy-eight verbal) favored whites over blacks. By favoring whites, I mean that a higher percentage of white than black students answered correctly every question pre-screened and chosen to appear on that SAT†¦SAT forms are designed to very strongly correlate with one another. And the pattern I’ve identified is a predictable result of the way the tests are constructed. Latino test-takers are similarly affected, faring only a bit better than blacks. † Obviously, test takers are being gypped when it comes to standardized testing, and the tests are being biased towards white students. This example of white students performing better on all 138 pre-screened questions gives the indication that the system that is used to screen questions is in and of itself, biased, and therefore, in need of examination. Rosner goes on to give another example of the biases of test creators. On a pre-testing question where minority students actually performed better than white students, the question was thrown out, an obvious example of bias towards white students. Interestingly enough, Rosner’s entire reason for looking into the SAT and other standardized testing questions formulated by the ETS, the Educational Testing Service, was due to the fact that white students had filed a suit against the University of Michigan because they were allowing black students into the college with a lower SAT score and not accepting white students who may have a higher score. While it does not show test bias, it’s an interesting example of how the colleges may be cognizant of testing bias and how they are trying to rectify the discrepancies, i. e. allowing minority students who may have a lower SAT score into the college. As stated by Rosner, there is in fact, a twenty percent gap in performance on standardized testing between white students and minority students, displaying bias on the part of the ETS as their company formulates and screens questions before putting them onto the tests (Rosner, 2003). If they were, in fact, unbiased, why did they not allow the question where black students performed better than white? If they had allowed the question, then maybe we could state that they were at least making an effort towards being unbiased regarding test formulation and administration, unfortunately, all actions point to the contrary. As long as those formulating the tests are using biased criteria, our tests will continue to be biased and white students will continue to perform better than minority students. References Rammohan, Yasmin Tara. (9 May 2007). Advocates say standardized tests often flunk cultural bias scrutiny. Medill Reports Chicago. Retrieved from http://news. medill. northwestern. edu/chicago/news. aspx? id=35935. Rosner, Jay. (27 March 2003). On white preferences. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www. thenation. com/doc/20030414/rosner.

America Must Not Close Abortion Clinics :: Pro Choice Abortion

America Must Not Close Abortion Clinics In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision made it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical surgeons, and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death (â€Å"abortion†). Now there is a new proposal to close abortion clinics. This proposal takes away the privacy rights of American women that are guaranteed by our Constitution. By closing abortion clinics the government is not only taking away women’s rights, but is also punishing those whom want to exercise their right to have an abortion. Abortion clinics allow thousands of women every year to have abortions. Having the abortion should be woman’s personal choice. By closing these clinics, there will be no providers to perform the operation, so the choice has already been made for them. Closing the clinics will increase the barriers of having an abortion. When there are too many obstacles, the right to make their own choice is taken away from them. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to privacy included: â€Å"the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference† (â€Å"abortion†). The Constitution says we have a right to privacy, so taking away a woman’s chance to make decisions about her own body violates that right. The American Civil Liberties Union defends the Constitution and peoples’ rights. ACLU has protected the rights of abortion for women, and in recent years has argued mayor cases opposing restrictions that deny woman access to reproductive health care (â€Å"ACLU†). Policy 263 states: â€Å"The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether and when to bear children.†(The American Civil Liberties Union) The closure of abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the question whether this will be an effective method or not. Before 1973 abortions were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease (â€Å"abortion†). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage.). If clinics are closed, women will still continue to attempt, and succeed, in ending unwanted pregnancies just like before 1973.

Proble Solution Essay

Problem/Solution Essay Procrastination The biggest problem that has always given me trouble is procrastination. Though I’m not the only student that suffers from this problem, it is one of the most common occurrences among teenagers. How procrastination is detected is shown by people doing their work at the last second and rushing to get it done. Ways I procrastinate it by getting side tracked by something usually more entertaining; for instance TV, radio, or even video games.When I start to do my work I always get bored with a silent room, so I happen to turn on the TV and listen to it. Instead of listening to the TV I turn around and start to watch it. Before I realize what I am doing I turn to the clock and thirty minutes have already passed. Another problem that I have is being too lazy to make the effort to get the work done, or just even start it. I am lazy because I work and go to school so when I get home from work I don’t want to even do anything beside just si t there and watch TV or something.Being forgetful is a big problem I also have, when I go to school and a teacher gives me home work I don’t write it down or anything, then by the time I get home I don’t remember to do it. This is bad because not doing my home work gets me in trouble with school and my parents. As I have gotten older I procrastinate less but it is still bad, but not as bad as when I was younger. When I was younger I would almost never turn in my work either because I forgot to do it or I wanted to go hang out with friends instead of taking the time to sit down and do it.When I procrastinate work does not get done. I also forget when important date’s things are due. Forgetting important date’s is bad because when a big project is due and you don’t have any work done it makes my grades suffer a lot. For example last year I forgot a 100 point project was due. My grade was a 78% and when I didn’t turn that project in it really h urt my grade. It dropped me down to a 60%. Thanks to that happening I almost didn’t pass that class. Thankfully I did well on the finals and it put my grade to a higher D. hat is when I realized I had a big problem, through out my senior year I have been trying to fix this terrible. I have been doing really well on making sure all my work is getting done and saying no to friends that want to hang out. I just simply tell them that I have home work to do and it’s important because it is my last year in school and I want to pass with good grades. Ways I can approach this issue is start paying close attention to when dates are due and when assignments need to get done. This will better me in school and also life.Some other ways I can get pass this issue is just focus on the main goal no matter how boring it might be, and how much more something else might be more exciting. In life one mistake on a assignment might cost me my job so I have to really pay attention to detail and just kick the lazy habit and put my best foot forward and try my hardest to make sure I succeed in life and in school. Another way I can also approach this problem is by making a schedule and write down when the assignments are due and when and where I need to turn them in at, doing this will help me a great deal in college and also in the work force.Making sure I use time management will be very effective with me handling my work. If a teenage like me has this issue the best way to confront it is to sit down and think of ways they can get past it. I know that with me sitting down and thinking of ways of beating this problem it has helped me a lot in the long run. I have been getting better grades and all my work has been getting turned in. I know that if I can do it then so can anybody else that has this same problem.

Management Programme Term-End Examination

December, 2005 MS95 (S) : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR MANAGEMENT DECISIONS Time: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 100 (Weightage 70%) Note : (i) This paper contains two sections, Section A and B. Section A contains five questions. Attempt any four questions from this section. Section B is compulsory (ii) Statistical tables may be provided. (iii) Use of own non-programmable calculator is allowed. SECTION A 1. A local supermarket has experienced a decline in unit sales and little change in rupee value sales.Profits have almost vanished. The chief executive in searching for ways to revitalize the operation, was advised to increase the number of hours the market is open for business. He comes to you for advice in structuring a research problem that will provide relevant information for decision making, Define the research problem taking care to : (15) (a) state the relevant question. (b) enumerate the alternative answers. (c) clearly define the units of analysis and characteristics of interest. 2. A sample may be large yet worthless because it is not random; or it may be random but unreliable because it is small. † Comment upon the above statement and explain the importance of sampling in daily life. (15) 3. What do you understand by factor analysis ? Mention the purpose and uses of factor analysis. (15) 4. What are the seven elements of communication, which are relevant for making a presentation ? Discuss. (15) 5. Write short notes on any three of the following : (15) (a) Objective characteristics and Inferred characteristics (b) Editing of primary data c) Operating and Strategic decisions (d) Ordinal Scale (e) Audio-visual aids in presentation of reports SECTION B 6. Describe the semantic differential scale. Use the semantic differential technique to develop the profile of three television manufacturing companies in India. (20) 7. A random sample of 30 students obtained the following marks in a class test : (20) Test the hypothesis that their median score is more than 5 0. 58 55 25 32 26 85 44 80 33 72 10 42 15 46 64 39 38 30 36 65 72 46 54 36 89 94 25 74 66 29

The Qualities That Make a Great President essays

The Qualities That Make a Great President essays The Qualities That Make a Good President Presidential election years generate a massive responsibility for the American voters. The public is charged with choosing the person who will serve as the next president. In order to decide who the best person for the job is, an evaluation must be performed of the candidates experience and qualities. Choosing the right person goes beyond political party affiliation, it goes to choosing the candidate with the right stuff. To begin with the voters must examine the traits that make a good president. Research suggests that stubbornness and disagreeableness are two traits associated with great presidents. Even though these are not admirable traits, they assist in the making of a great president. The president should be opinionated and willing to stand firm for what he believes is best for the country. Therefore, these qualities often equate to someone who is not easily swayed and is confident in his decisions. The president must be willing to take a stance for what he believes in to prove he is working in the best interest of the country. Additionally, researchers indicate that great presidents are more extroverted, open to experiences, assertive and focused on achievement and excitement. An extrovert is a very appealing personality to the public. The extroverts tend to be more concerned with the physical and social environment. The events they experience energize them. Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Andrew Jackson were all considered extroverts as well as making the list of being one of the top ten presidents in American history. They are all known for their irrepressible energy that charmed the nation. As a matter of fact, Steven Rubenzer of the Harris County, Texas, mental health department said, Compared to other presidents those who were most open to new experiences are most likely to ...

Darker Side Of Robert Frost Essays - Robert Frost, Mending Wall

Darker Side Of Robert Frost Essays - Robert Frost, Mending Wall Darker Side Of Robert Frost Robert Frost is often referred to as a poet of nature. Words and phrases such as fire and ice, flowers in bloom, apple orchards and rolling hills, are all important elements of Frost's work. Remove them and something more than symbols are taken away. These benign' objects provide an alternative way to look at the world and are often used as metaphors to describe a darker view of nature and humans. In Frost's poetry, the depth is as important as the surface. The darker aspects of Frost's poetry are often portrayed through the use of symbolism, vivid imagery, and selective word choice. Frost's poems appear to be simple on the surface, yet upon further scrutiny the poems reveal themselves as elusive. Frost utilizes ordinary objects to create a deeper meaning. For example, the poem Mending Wall, appears to be about the differences between two neighbors and their ideas on rebuilding a wall. On the other hand, the wall may be viewed, in a more general sense, as a symbol to represent all the antagonistic or mistrustful barriers that divide man from man. The gaps I mean / No one has seen them made or heard them made / But at spring mending-time we find them there (lines 9-11), illustrates the point that people become separated without even realizing it because we become so caught up in what is happening in our own lives. The darkness, held within the afore mentioned quotation, is the feeling of sadness. The fact that we do not take notice of one another creates a place that becomes more and more divided by differences. Likewise, the poem Nothing Gold Can Stay seems to represent the change of seasons. But further analysis reveals that the speaker is also paralleling the cycles of life with the change in seasons. So dawn goes down to day (7) illustrates that in life as in nature, golden moments fade away. Then leaf subsides to leaf (5) implies autumn, when the leaves begin to turn gold and fall to the ground. The color gold represents the end of life, whereas green represents new life. The poem also illustrates the loss of innocence. As the seasons change, life progresses and innocence can no longer be sustained. Autumn represents death. The changes in the color of the leaves are often viewed as beautiful even though it marks the end of a season. The end to human life creates overwhelming feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Death, for some people, is a taboo subject. People are not overly comfortable discussing death because of the emotions evoked. Yet, Frost has the ability to create an awareness o f the subject by using the beauty of nature as a filter. Frost's darker side is also prevalent through the imagery of many of his poems. For example, the title of the poem Desert Places, stimulates images of loneliness, feelings of abandonment, and a general sense of isolation. The word desert is often associated with harsh living conditions and a place devoid of life. The word it', in The woods around it have itit is theirs (5), refers to the field and suggests that the field is just there. The animals are absent too - smothered in their lairs (6). The speaker is too absent-spirited (7) to matter. Thus, without the care of man and without the animals the field is deserted, desolated, and lonely. The closing line To scare myself with my own desert places (16), examines the manner in which people often fail to get in contact with aspects of their personalities which are undesirable or difficult to admit. For example, the constant struggle between one's inner feelings and the accepted social norms. Desert places also suggests that people have darkness within themselves. The absence of a meaningful self or lack of self-esteem may create feelings of isolation. Stopping by Woods on a Snow evening, also illustrates a dark complexity to Frost's works. The poem captures images of loneliness and indecisiveness by selective word choice. For instance, woods are sometimes connected with the unknown, darkness and isolation. The speaker also uses phrases such as, darkest evening and frozen lake to solidify the mood of aloneness. The speaker is

What Do You Do for Fun Interview Question

What Do You Do for Fun Interview Question Its almost a guarantee that your interviewer is going to ask what you like to do for fun. The college interviewer might ask this question in one of many ways: What do you do in your free time? What do you do when youre not in school? What do you do on your weekends? What makes you happy? This is not a trick question, and many kinds of answers will do well. If youre doing an interview at all, its because the college has a holistic admissions policy, and the interviewer is simply trying to get to know you better. College is about much more than academic classes, and the admissions folks want to know how you keep yourself busy when youre not doing schoolwork. The most attractive students are those who do interesting things in their spare time. Bad Interview Question Answers So, when you answer the question, make sure you actually sound like you do interesting things in your spare time. Answers like these will not impress: I like hangin with my friends. (Do you actually do anything with those friends, or do you just take up space on our little planet?)I do Facebook in all my free time. (Whether its Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, or some other social platform, this response is true for many students. But too much online time is a major source of poor academic performance in college, so you wont want to highlight your online addictions during your interview)I like partying. (Another activity that, if abused, has caused many students to fail out of college)I watch lots of TV. (Many of us watch too much TV; dont highlight that fact during your interview)I dont have any free time. (This answer is true for some highly involved students, but it is an evasive answer; what would you do if you did have free time?)Ive been reading all of the Greek classics. (Good for you, but really? Colleges like good scholars, but they also want students who occasionally take their heads out of their books) Youll also want to avoid insincere answers that may be about important activities, but that clearly are not fun. Cleaning dishes at a local shelter or scooping poop at an animal rescue are admirable and important activities, but probably not fun. That said, there certainly is a lot of personal satisfaction in helping others, but youll want to frame your answer to make it clear why such activities bring you  pleasure. Good Interview Question Answers In general, the best answer to this question will show that you have passions outside of the classroom. The question allows you to show that you are well-rounded. Within reason, it doesnt much matter what you do in your free time as long as you do something. Do you love working on cars? Playing a pick-up game of soccer? Hiking in the neighboring mountains? Experimenting in the kitchen? Building rockets? Playing word games with your younger brother? Painting sunsets? Surfing? Note that this question is not necessarily about your extracurricular activities such as theater, varsity athletics, or marching band. Your interviewer will learn about those interests from your application or activities resume, and youre likely to get another question about those interests. This doesnt mean you cant answer with a discussion of your favorite extracurricular activities, but you should view this question as an opportunity to reveal a side of yourself that appears nowhere on your application. Your transcript will show that you are a good student. Your answer to this question will show that you are also someone who has diverse interests that will enrich the campus community. Explain WHY the Activity is Fun Finally, be sure to follow up your answer with a discussion of why you answered the way you did. Your interview isnt going to be impressed with this exchange: Interviewer: What do you like to do for fun?You: I like swimming.Awkward silence Assume the interview is also asking you WHY you like the activity. Think how much better the interviewer gets to know you with a response like this: Interviewer: What do you like to do for fun?You: I love swimming. Theres a lake up the hill from my house, and I spend time there every day when the weather permits. I really enjoy the exercise, and I also like being surrounding by nature. When Im in the water its so peaceful. I get most of my best thinking done when Im swimming. In fact, one reason Im interested in Wellesley College is that Ill be able to keep doing what I love in Lake Waban. A Final Word on College Interviews Interviews are typically a pleasant exchange of information, and they arent designed to trip you up or be confrontational. That said, you will want to be prepared to answer some of the most common interview questions before you set foot in the interview room, and youll also want to avoid these common interview mistakes. In general, its a good idea to do an interview, even if its optional, but youll want to do enough preparation so that you make a positive impression.