The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 02, 1990, Page 3, Image 3
Testing I
Changes in SAT examination
might bring teaching changes
'
The ability to write is becoming increasingly important. Nor
only is it a necessity to know how to write well, it is also important
to know how to think rationally and critically.
Unfortunately, too many students come to college without a
grasp of the fundamentals of writing, and even less are capable of
logical thinking.
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changes in the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The SAT, which is
the most widely used college entrance examination, will move
away from being merely a multiple-choice test and, in 1994, will
include essay questions.
This is a move in the right direction. Hopefully, more school
districts, principals and teachers in junior high and high schools
will begin to place more emphasis on writing and critical thinking.
The changes in the SAT might also encourage national emphasis
on inferential thinking, rather than memorization. Too often,
students are taught to memorize names and dates without truly
understanding concepts and ideas.
Changing the SAT to include essays will also be an asset to
some students who do not do well on standardized tests. There are
many students who can express ideas and issues in essay form but
freeze up and get confused on multiple-choice examinations.
The SAT is not fair to all students and should not be the main
criterion for college admission but will continue being used. At
least changing its format will make the exam more accurate in
determining how well students can express themselves in written
'form.
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COVERT OPERATIONS (CONTP.)
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Sush's actions show 1
The jury is in. George Bush is a lousy
President Bush has been on a roller-coaster mW
public opinion. He has gone from having the , JS. J DAVI
ghest approval rating in history to his latest ;
w of 48 percent.
He could have a 99 percent approval rating,
id it really wouldn't matter. Public opinion is ?? r
>t necessarily a good determinant of whether
not a president is doing his job. A majority He did absolutely no
the public can't find America on a map. peaceful revolution in Eaj
To find out Bush's quality, let's look strictly all the credit for its eventu
his actions: to give any meaningful a
He sent envoys to China to pledge America's tions or to support Soviet
pport of the Communist government practi- in his own reform efforts,
lly before the blood had dried from the Tianmen
Square massacre. He reneged on his "n
He refused to support a military coup in Pa- making him a liar to the /
ima that would have ousted Noriega months He has sent hundreds o
rlier, without a costly U.S. invasion. can troops into an uncerta
I LETTERS TO THE EDITOF
.'imp Pnliimn
j 1411 iv vvriuiiiii was wriuen 111 yuui <uiu.it. inanus
# II for expressing in words what every
written W0ll Bulldog fan surely feels about the
post-game "riot." Again, well
a the editor: written.
Congrats, Rich. You took an in- Ed Johnson
dent that you easily could have USC graduate student
en from a biased viewpoint and
rote a perfectly objective editor- ?1 Inform ioKc
1, "Post-game field clearing tac- v^dl IUUII JitUo
As a graduate student at USC, I at economics
n a Gamecock fan. But because I
n also an alumnus of The Ci- To the editor:
del, the Oct. 20 contest was my The editorial cartoon "My Latest
>le time to pull against Carolina. Trick ..." in the Oct. 19 issue of
lie post-game brutality angered The Gamecock invites further come
greatly. I could dwell on this ment. Both the administration and
)inl, but that would be senseless Congress deserve unflattering cari
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^BEjjezxzzk:
tiis failure as leader
sian Gulf with no real agenda other than the
vague promise to "protect American interests."
Whether or not this action is warranted is
D BOWDEN another matter. My gripe is that the president
doesn't seem to know what he is going to do
next.
That is the essence of Bush's failure as a
leader. Instead of making bold initiatives to fix
the budget or other problems, Bush only rething
to support the sponds to other's actions, be they the Demostern
Europe and took crats or the Despot of the Week,
lal success. He has yet Before any Young Republicans out there grab
ssistance to those na- their monogrammed stationary to tell me off, let
: President Gorbachev it be said that I think the Democrats are just as
responsible for our nation's sorry shape. However,
the Republicans have dominated the
o new taxes" pledge, White House for 10 years, and all America has
American people. to show for it is status as the world's biggest
f thousands of Ameri- debtor nation. At least we're still number one in
in situation in the Per- something.
catures for their dismal handling of was not validated was that the tax
the budget issue. My quarrel is cuts would "pay for themselves."
with Mr. Herblock's gratuitous jab However, the revenue loss can be
at "supply-side" economics. traced to the middle and lower
Today's budget crisis is not a brackets, where the rate cuts were
product of supply-side economics, less dramatic.
Granted, in the early 1980s, the tax The current deficit hysteria is
cut did account for about 30 per- being used as an opportunity to decent
of the deficit But by 1987, all nigrate the remarkable boom of the
of the deficit was the result of in- 1980s, to discredit the successful
creased spending. Meanwhile, the supply-side policies of tax reduc1981
income tax cuts were playing tion and to rekindle class warfare
a key role in driving the record economics. If you don't like the
economic expansion. GNP, invest- decade of greed and growth, welment,
real wages and real private come to the decade of envy, re
sector net worth all increased. So sentment and recession,
did the share of the income tax Arthur C. Mayer III
paid by the wealthiest taxpayers ? M.I.B.S. '92
a key supply-side prediction. The College of Business
only major supply-side claim that Administration