Today, MIT announced “that for the first time it will offer credentials — under the name MITx — to students who complete the online version of certain courses, starting with a pilot program this spring.”

This major milestone in the open courseware movement is covered in Chronicle of Higher Ed here: http://chronicle.com/article/MIT-Will-Offer-Certificates-to/130121/. In the article, they reference PUP book Unlocking the Gates by Taylor Walsh, writing on behalf of Ithaka S+R (including colleagues Roger Schonfeld who is quoted in the AP article announcing MITx). This seminal book provides unprecedented data and analysis of several case studies including OCW at MIT.

So, to celebrate the launch of MITx we are pleased to offer this complimentary excerpt from Unlocking the Gates that includes this prescient tidbit:

Vest wrote in 2004 that “the real pay-off of what we hope will become the open-courseware movement will be its effect on educators and learners around the world.”65 The language of the original grant proposal’s sections dealing with impact reveals both MIT’s vast ambitions for OCW’s effects on the wider world and a lack of clear metrics for systematically assessing that impact. The proposal’s authors state that “we believe that in the long run, OCW, like other successful contributions to education, will lead to greater equality and improvements in economic performance, but these long-term, ultimate outcomes are impossible to isolate and measure.”

Excerpt as PDF: http://press.princeton.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/walsh-excerpt-owci.pdf

The Associated Press (via NPR) is reporting that some college applicants are deliberately not checking Asian on their applications in hopes that this will increase their chance at getting a fatter envelope in the spring.

The AP report cites one student saying:

“I didn’t want to put ‘Asian’ down,” Olmstead says, “because my mom told me there’s discrimination against Asians in the application process.”

The report also quoets Kara Miller, a former admissions office reader at Yale, who said “it often felt like Asians were held to a higher standard”

“Asian kids know that when you look at the average SAT for the school, they need to add 50 or 100 to it. If you’re Asian, that’s what you’ll need to get in,” says Miller, now an English professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

So what gives? Is there truth lurking behind these anecdotes? Well–and this is where PUP’s interest is piqued–the AP article notes:

Asian students have higher average SAT scores than any other group, including whites. A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade examined applicants to top colleges from 1997, when the maximum SAT score was 1600 (today it’s 2400). Espenshade found that Asian-Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100.

This research was actually published in a PUP book called No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life by Thomas J. Espenshade & Alexandria Walton Radford (a free excerpt here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9072.pdf). The book just recently won the 2011 Pierre Bourdieu Book Award, Sociology of Education Section, American Sociological Association and you can read an earlier article that Tom and Alexandria wrote for the PUP Blog that answers the question “How International Are U.S. Colleges?”.

FACT: “Following the Revolutionary War, college building expanded rapidly beyond the original 9 colonial colleges to include nearly 250 by 1860. The central government’s sale of ‘land grants’ stimulated some of this growth. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 disbursed land grants in order to pay down the nation’s revolutionary war debt and promote the creation of schools and colleges in newly conquered lands. Congress built on this earlier precedent with the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862. Passed in the throes of the Civil War, the legislation secured the government’s role as a key supporter of public higher education.”

Between Citizens and the State:
The Politics of American Higher Education in the 20th Century
by Christopher P. Loss

This book tracks the dramatic outcomes of the federal government’s growing involvement in higher education between World War I and the 1970s, and the conservative backlash against that involvement from the 1980s onward. Using cutting-edge analysis, Christopher Loss recovers higher education’s central importance to the larger social and political history of the United States in the twentieth century, and chronicles its transformation into a key mediating institution between citizens and the state.

Elizabeth Popp Berman, author of Creating the Market University: How Academic Science Became an Economic Engine, has won the 2011 President’s Book Award from the Social Science History Association. This award recognizes “an especially meritorious first work by a beginning scholar.”

Daniel Carpenter, who wrote Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA, has won the SSHA’s 2011 Allan Sharlin Memorial Award for “an outstanding book in social science history published in the previous year.”

Congratulations to both authors on their fantastic achievements!

“After Congress ratified the Sixteenth Amendment instituting the income tax in 1913, the Treasury Department created a single category in the tax code for exempting philanthropies, whether originating in big money, mass appeals, or communities. Tax exemption has not only nurtured philanthropy in society, it has entrenched it. Equally important, it encourages an otherwise very diverse group of institutions that have dispersed and/or solicited private funds for the public good to work together, in essence fostering a nonprofit sector of groups with similar interests and privileges.”

Philanthropy in America: A History
by Olivier Zunz

American philanthropy today expands knowledge, champions social movements, defines active citizenship, influences policymaking, and addresses humanitarian crises. How did philanthropy become such a powerful and integral force in American society? Philanthropy in America is the first book to explore in depth the twentieth-century growth of this unique phenomenon. Ranging from the influential large-scale foundations established by tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and the mass mobilization of small donors by the Red Cross and March of Dimes, to the recent social advocacy of individuals like Bill Gates and George Soros, respected historian Olivier Zunz chronicles the tight connections between private giving and public affairs, and shows how this union has enlarged democracy and shaped history.

Zunz looks at the ways in which American philanthropy emerged not as charity work, but as an open and sometimes controversial means to foster independent investigation, problem solving, and the greater good. Andrew Carnegie supported science research and higher education, catapulting these fields to a prominent position on the world stage. In the 1950s, Howard Pew deliberately funded the young Billy Graham to counter liberal philanthropies, prefiguring the culture wars and increased philanthropic support for religious causes. And in the 1960s, the Ford Foundation supported civil rights through education, voter registration drives, and community action programs. Zunz argues that American giving allowed the country to export its ideals abroad after World War II, and he examines the federal tax policies that unified the diverse nonprofit sector.

Demonstrating that America has cultivated and relied on philanthropy more than any other country, Philanthropy in America examines how giving for the betterment of all became embedded in the fabric of the nation’s civic democracy.

“Marshaling his unmatched encyclopedic knowledge, Olivier Zunz has produced a masterful and comprehensive account of the power and influence of American philanthropy. His book places the subject into a larger societal and global framework, and will be of great interest to historians and social scientists working on the dynamics and ethos of modern capitalism, as well as to all individuals involved in the world of foundations and NGOs.”—V.R. Berghahn, Columbia University

“Compelling and beautifully written, this narrative about the development of philanthropy from the nineteenth century through the present day bears the hallmark of rigorous scholarship and authoritative research. Showing how the diversity of givers and giving in America has advanced the nation’s social, cultural, intellectual, and economic life, Zunz demonstrates that big money philanthropy and mass giving have left a uniquely democratic imprint on the country and set an example for philanthropic efforts around the world.”—Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation of New York

We invite you to read the Introduction here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9513.pdf

FACT: “The use of large-scale testing grew exponentially in the United States after World War I, when it was demonstrated that a mass-administered version of what was essentially an IQ test (what was then called ‘Army Alpha’) improved the accuracy and efficiency of the placement of recruits into the various military training programs. The precursors of what would eventually become the SAT were modeled on Army Alpha.”

Uneducated Guesses: Using Evidence to Uncover Misguided Education Policies
by Howard Wainer

Uneducated Guesses challenges everything our policymakers thought they knew about education and education reform, from how to close the achievement gap in public schools to admission standards for top universities. In this explosive book, Howard Wainer uses statistical evidence to show why some of the most widely held beliefs in education today—and the policies that have resulted—are wrong. He shows why colleges that make the SAT optional for applicants end up with underperforming students and inflated national rankings, and why the push to substitute achievement tests for aptitude tests makes no sense. Wainer challenges the thinking behind the enormous rise of advanced placement courses in high schools, and demonstrates why assessing teachers based on how well their students perform on tests—a central pillar of recent education reforms—is woefully misguided. He explains why college rankings are often lacking in hard evidence, why essay questions on tests disadvantage women, why the most grievous errors in education testing are not made by testing organizations—and much more.

No one concerned about seeing our children achieve their full potential can afford to ignore this book. With forceful storytelling, wry insight, and a wealth of real-world examples, Uneducated Guesses exposes today’s educational policies to the light of empirical evidence, and offers solutions for fairer and more viable future policies.

“[T]hought-provoking. . . . He questions the anecdotal and statistical evidence that underpins many of today’s education policies and reform efforts.”—Library Journal

“Uneducated Guesses is an insider’s look at using test scores to make high stakes decisions in education. In this rigorous, refreshing rebuttal of conventional thinking, Wainer argues that in the world of education policy, we all would be better served by examining the evidence that demonstrates that our ideas will improve the systems we’re trying to transform.”—Dennis Van Roekel, president, National Education Association

We invite you to read the Introduction here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9529.pdf

The Newark Star Ledger published a great feature on Howard Wainer and his book Uneducated Guesses yesterday (“Christie misses the mark on grading teachers, author says“). Robert Braun correctly notes that Wainer is concerned that tests are being improperly used to evaluate teachers. These “Value-Added Models” of evaluation fall into the broad category of misuses statistics, of which Braun notes:

Wainer’s book contains funny riffs on the misuse of statistics. A study, for example, on the most dangerous profession based on age at death. Want to guess? Student. Think about it — students who die do so at a young age so, obviously, they have the lowest life expectancy.

But that hardly makes studying a dangerous profession; it makes the clumsy use of statistics dangerous to believe.

Although New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently announced a new VAM program of teacher evaluation that will rely on 50% traditional evaluation methods and 50% testing scores, the Governor’s office declined to comment for Braun’s article. But Braun writes:

The state Department of Education issued a statement saying it was using student performance measures in 10 pilot districts “before rolling out statewide in 2012.’’

It said such measures would be used in only “50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation.” “We believe that teachers should never be evaluated on a single consideration such as test scores, much less a single test, but on multiple measures of student learning.”

Wainer is skeptical of the new initiative, saying that if you’ve already decided to roll-out a program, a year-long pilot program will be “worthless at testing the viability of the whole enterprise.’’

This article grabbed the attention of another Governor — well a former Governor that is. Gov. David Paterson will speak with Wainer on his afternoon drive show on WOR radio this coming Monday. Tune in during the 4:00 PM hour if you are in the listening area.

Author Howard Wainer
Event Dates: September 14, 2011 – 7:00pm
Location
Princeton Public Library, Community Room
65 Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ

“Uneducated Guesses: Using Evidence to Uncover Misguided Education Policies”

A distinguished research scientist at the National Board of Medical Examiners and adjunct professor of statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Wainer was principal research scientist at Educational Testing Service for 21 years. His book uses statistical evidence to show why some of the most widely held beliefs in education today, and the policies that have resulted from them, are wrong.

Part of the Thinking Allowed series sponsored by the library and Princeton University Press.

PUP author Max Bazerman recently posted a video on the website Big Think in which he addresses the problem of recognizing ethical dilemmas.

In the video he considers the case of Bernie Madoff. How did the very intelligent people working with Madoff fail to see that his returns were too good to be true? Bazerman argues that “we often behave contrary to our best ethical intentions without knowing it.”

This concept is the basis for Blind Spots, the book he co-wrote with Ann Tenbrunsel. In it they explore cases where groups of people either willingly participate in–or seem to willingly ignore–actions that they should easily recognize as unethical.

The video presents a fascinating new way to understand the Madoff scandal, and cases like it. Check it out, and pick up a copy of Blind Spots to learn more about “how we can become more ethical, bridging the gap between who we are and who we want to be.”

I was lucky enough to have lunch with Howard Wainer last week and he graciously taped a brief interview for our blog. If there is one big lesson to be taken from Howard’s new book Uneducated Guesses, it is that evidence is king. In the interview Howard talks about why he wrote the book and what he hopes readers will take from it (hint, it involves evidence!).

The timing is great for this video interview as Inside Higher Ed just posted a lengthy feature in which they speak to Howard and also to representatives from the College Board and the National Center for Fair and Open Testing about the chapters on AP courses and SAT-optional college admissions respectively.

So, as the title says, watch this and read that.

Howard Wainer’s most recent book, Uneducated Guesses, is both a challenge to education policymakers and a warning to the country about the misguided policies that shape our nation’s educational system. Wainer uses statistical evidence to uncover the problems that threaten education in the United States in a book that is both accessible and eye opening for any reader. We recently posed some questions to Professor Wainer and are thrilled to post this dialogue about various issues he addresses in his book.

PUP: You discuss a lot of issues surrounding college and university admittance in Uneducated Guesses, one of which is the choice to not require the SAT. Do you think some schools shifting towards not requiring the SAT for admittance will cause more schools to follow suit?


Professor Howard Wainer: I hope not. Right now there are powerful forces pushing some schools to abandon admission tests. One of the most insidious is how making such tests optional artificially boosts the school’s US News & World Report rankings. I hope that by exposing such strategies it will help to stifle such policies.




Continue reading after the jump for more of Howard’s thoughts on AP courses, Value-added models of teacher evaluation, CATs and more.

Fact: Princeton entrance exams were dropped in 1916 in favor of those given by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB), and Greek was no longer required for admission after 1919.

The Making of Princeton University:
From Woodrow Wilson to the Present
By James Axtell

In 1902, Professor Woodrow Wilson took the helm of Princeton University, then a small denominational college with few academic pretensions. But Wilson had a blueprint for remaking the too-cozy college into an intellectual powerhouse. The Making of Princeton University tells, for the first time, the story of how the University adapted and updated Wilson’s vision to transform itself into the prestigious institution it is today.

Written in a delightful and elegant style, The Making of Princeton University offers a detailed picture of how the University has dealt with these issues to secure a distinguished position in both higher education and American society. For anyone interested in or associated with Princeton, past or present, this is a book to savor.

We invite you to read chapter one online:
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s8146.html