tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post5303448926776722305..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: My useful new VDARE.com column on Advanced Placement testingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-39619095836238444812009-07-14T18:33:43.268-07:002009-07-14T18:33:43.268-07:00I for one am glad that we have a wise Latina who s...<i>I for one am glad that we have a wise Latina who sees through the evil white male's slight of hand in using "objective standards", "facts" and "tests" to justify their disproportionate control of power</i>.<br /><br />Lol!<br /><br />Lumped together are they not what used to be known as the white man's <a href="http://www.ask.com/bar?q=%22trick+knowledge%22&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=5&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lyricsmode.com%2Flyrics%2Fw%2Fwu_tang_clan%2Fi_cant_go_to_sleep.html" rel="nofollow">trick knowledge</a>?<br /><br />Wise words indeed from that colossus that bestrides our culture - the Wu Tang Clan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-33197169121277017982009-07-14T12:21:51.818-07:002009-07-14T12:21:51.818-07:00Steve demonstrates the AP exam (as well as the New...Steve demonstrates the AP exam (as well as the New Haven, CT firefighter's exam) are "hatexams". But the hate goes deeper than objective standards and and 3rd party testing.<br /><br />Numbers, percentages and the very concept of mathematical ordinality that "ranks" something "higher" or "better" than something else are intrinsically hateful. These are amoral tools of deceit are manipulated by haters to justify their continued oppression of the traditionally downtrodden.<br /><br />The only reality to be found in the color of our skin and justice has to be premised upon this ultimate truth. I for one am glad that we have a wise Latina who sees through the evil white male's slight of hand in using "objective standards", "facts" and "tests" to justify their disproportionate control of power. <br /><br />Todo por la Raza, Nada afuera la Raza! Viva La Sotomayor!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-43428020728102379542009-07-14T10:33:29.345-07:002009-07-14T10:33:29.345-07:00"all she does, all day long, is try to help p..."all she does, all day long, is try to help poor black americans. the federal government pays her $75,000 a year ..."<br /><br />Great, she's altruistic enough to make double the salary of her peers. I say we nominate her for sainthood now!Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-4131120710280832852009-07-14T10:02:08.132-07:002009-07-14T10:02:08.132-07:00"I got a 4 on Calculus BC in the early 90s. W..."I got a 4 on Calculus BC in the early 90s. What can I say, it was a tough test. Anyone who got a 5 (and a post like this is sure to bring them out in the comments) has my respect."<br /><br />If you look at only people who actually took the Calc BC test, over 40% got a 5, which proves that takers are merely being self selected.XCLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-49303565709994819742009-07-14T02:22:59.481-07:002009-07-14T02:22:59.481-07:00America's shambling multi-racial experiment on...America's shambling multi-racial experiment only works through the largely involuntary input of white taxpayers and the more voluntary input of whites prepared to maintain the system out of some degree of idealism. i.e. earning at a lower rate than they could in the private sector.<br /><br />If Truth's hard nosed ethics were fully applied then the experiment would fail very quickly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-26133528540644932722009-07-13T21:50:14.266-07:002009-07-13T21:50:14.266-07:00"Great; another certified genius making $35,0..."Great; another certified genius making $35,000 a year"<br /><br />i don't really know what he makes. i do know that he is basically a christian nutjob and went to a christian college. after getting his degree he saw it as his duty to serve underpriviledged black americans, something that millions of white americans are doing every single day.<br /><br />after trying to help them, and having them start fights in class basically every single day, he decided to move on.<br /><br />this is exactly what my cousin does, a woman who went to the university of virginia on a full scholarship as a math major, then got a graduate degree from columbia, then decided to work for teach for america.<br /><br />all she does, all day long, is try to help poor black americans. the federal government pays her $75,000 a year to put up with how much trouble black kids actually cause in the classroom. wherever the worst schools are, wherever the test scores are the lowest, that's where they send her. new york city, philadelphia, baltimore. my cousin, who is a friendly and nice person, puts up with their insults and harassment daily. the black kids don't want to learn, but she won't give up on them.<br /><br />"Probably not nearly as funny as him showing his pay stub to a mortgage loan officer at his local bank."<br /><br />at 31 years old, he makes enough money to outright own a 2400 square foot house in suburban pennsylvania, where prices are low and the local school district has either a crippling, or refreshing, lack of diversity, depending on whether you are viewing it as a white liberal or as a normal person.jodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-16641434847821600532009-07-13T20:44:26.781-07:002009-07-13T20:44:26.781-07:00It's interesting thinking about what tests the...It's interesting thinking about what tests they might add next. Would be great if they added 3rd semester calc and diffeqs. There are a fair fraction of kids taking calc as pre seniors. And just the presence of the test has an encouraging effect on schools to create the courses.TCOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-34170972011653101202009-07-13T19:09:17.894-07:002009-07-13T19:09:17.894-07:00AP placement can be dangerous at top schools. Ver...AP placement can be dangerous at top schools. Very often the college intro course is more useful and rigorous than the high school equivalent. Having lectured at several top 20 USNews universities, I met many students who had placed out of intro this or that (usually calc, econ or one of the sciences) only to get killed in the upper class courses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-2804442986690666852009-07-13T18:32:25.036-07:002009-07-13T18:32:25.036-07:00"one of my best friends got a 5 on the calcul..."one of my best friends got a 5 on the calculus BC exam in 1994.<br /><br />without using a calculator.<br /><br />true story: after getting his degree in mathematics, he became a high school teacher."<br /><br />Great; another certified genius making $35,000 a year<br /><br />"it is hilarious listening to his stories about considering whether to lecture the black kids about algebra theory."<br /><br />Probably not nearly as funny as him showing his pay stub to a mortgage loan officer at his local bank.Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-2459200874475069732009-07-13T18:14:43.240-07:002009-07-13T18:14:43.240-07:00Don't forget that some schools, particularly i...Don't forget that some schools, particularly in Texas, force all students in AP classes to take the test. So some of the test-takers are unwilling and will artificially bring down the test-taking average.PeterWhttp://ssmag.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-3934154866011642142009-07-13T15:12:00.206-07:002009-07-13T15:12:00.206-07:00Matt Taibbi`s blog is well worth to check out. As ...<a href="http://www.smirkingchimp.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Taibbi`s blog is well worth to check out.</a> As is his article in the Rolling Stone magazine about the Goldman Sachs, which is not in online yet (but at least some poor quality copies are).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-20410450327644958132009-07-13T12:21:16.577-07:002009-07-13T12:21:16.577-07:00The College Board may have "suspended" g...The College Board may have "suspended" giving the Italian test after 2009, so you should check that out. The Japanese test was taken even fewer times in 2008, but it's not immediately on the chopping block.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-88209520749429493612009-07-13T12:19:44.681-07:002009-07-13T12:19:44.681-07:00I also want to agree that AP classes were a welcom...I also want to agree that AP classes were a welcome refuge from the other classes. Although my school wasn't tracked, I ended up taking Honors Biology, AP English, AP Calculus, Honors Physics and AP History (as well as 4 years of Latin). This allowed me to mainly be in classes with smart, motivated students, even though I was at a public school with a considerable NAM population and fairly high dropout rate. <br />Another bonus was that in calculating GPA, honors and AP classes received an extra grade point.Antioco Dascalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10617669156986603638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-54392605277678992252009-07-13T12:16:52.403-07:002009-07-13T12:16:52.403-07:00I'm a bit surprised that over 97% of students ...I'm a bit surprised that over 97% of students don't take the Spanish Language exam. Is that because of a lack of ambition, not going to college or the fact that many native Spanish-speakers in America have never had reading Spanish at a high school level? In other words, could your average Mexican-born LA high school student get a 3 or 4 on the Spanish AP?<br />I got about 30 credits (6 classes) credit at Stanford with AP, but you cannot (at least at the time) get out of requirements with AP credit, so it really didn't matter much. I did graduate early though and had sophmore standing by winter of my freshman year.<br />I wish I had taken more APs (I only took exams after taking an AP class). I am actually considering taking some now, just as an incentive to work on languages on my own, such as Italian.Antioco Dascalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10617669156986603638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-45200718337325238422009-07-13T12:04:55.313-07:002009-07-13T12:04:55.313-07:00Consider yourself lucky your country even has Adva...Consider yourself lucky your country even has Advanced Placement testing (I don't even know what this means). In Canada it's straight grades for university admission, there is no SAT. 10-15% of non-math classes are subjectively evaluated, meaning you're marked on attitude, sucking up to the teacher, being a girl, etc. It's perverse; our universities are filled with dummies, 80% of the cost of their education on the public dime. The new thing is giving a masters without a BA to mature students, usually women and Indians.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-28149169745832555352009-07-13T11:40:34.324-07:002009-07-13T11:40:34.324-07:00I went to an elite public magnet school that refus...<i>I went to an elite public magnet school that refused to have AP classes in the humanities . AP courses require you to teach towards the test. In math and science, this isn't an issue because they would teach that regardless. </i><br /><br />Not entirely true. Biology, at least, is so big and contains so many barely connected fields that you can easily have an advanced bio class that doesn't prepare students for part of the AP test. <br /><br />My biology teacher was a macro nut and did not teach certain things students would need to know to get high scores on the AP test (biochemish stuff). He did, however, give (free) private/group lessons on the uncovered material by request. A very small number of students took him up on it.Sidewaysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-19065312817673308132009-07-13T08:57:51.250-07:002009-07-13T08:57:51.250-07:00The point of AP is to save time and money. Why wa...The point of AP is to save time and money. Why waste a year in college paying for calculus if you can learn it and pass a test? You can save your money to take higher level classes and get done faster.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-8894148625348151902009-07-13T08:16:15.905-07:002009-07-13T08:16:15.905-07:00Steve, enrollment in AP class is generally limited...Steve, enrollment in AP class is generally limited, and teachers recommendation are required to enroll in it. most teachers will only encourage the students that may pass to enroll in it, therefore, it is not a matter of encouraging more white student to take AP classes, since the pool of able student from Asian student body is larger. The same failure rate tell us that these teacher are generally right about their students' ability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-27564155053523648092009-07-13T08:05:17.201-07:002009-07-13T08:05:17.201-07:00From the VDARE article:
"It’s usually assume...From the VDARE article:<br /><br />"It’s usually assumed that a 3 is a "passing score," although tougher colleges now often require a 4. At the stratospheric level, MIT accepts only 5s, and Caltech doesn’t give advanced placement at all, because its intro courses are so advanced."<br /><br />In the old days the Caltech exams were mailed out over the summer to incoming students -- all honor code of course. They were much harder than their AP equivalents! I remember meeting with Tom Apostol (the author of the famous Calculus I and II texts) to learn that I was one of a handful of freshmen who had placed out of the first two years of math. (Up to and including multivariable caculus, ODEs, PDEs, linear algebra, probability and statistics.)<br /><br />"Asians have been taking formal tests since Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty instituted the imperial civil service exam for would-be mandarins in 605 A.D. They’ve grown accustomed to them.<br /><br />This suggests that white kids could profit from emulating Asians. Don’t be so afraid to take an AP test."<br /><br />Steve, can you expand on your HBD interpretation of this? Is the genetic predisposition for test taking or cognitive ability? :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-27354937957960866832009-07-13T07:57:09.948-07:002009-07-13T07:57:09.948-07:00Got 5's in Physics C E&M in Physics C Mech...Got 5's in Physics C E&M in Physics C Mechanics when I was in 10th grade, what percentile does that put me in?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-5899755754607365422009-07-13T05:44:29.839-07:002009-07-13T05:44:29.839-07:00No, from the point of view of the kid, it still ma...No, from the point of view of the kid, it still makes sense to take the AP classes. Between AP and a few other tricks [credit by final exam, retroactive credit by passing part 2 of 2-part course, placement exams], I had enough credit to reduce my college years by 1... but it wasn't in my interest to leave college early as I was essentially getting paid for 4 years to go to college [all money from scholarships went straight to my pocket after tuition and fees were taken out.]<br /><br />So I took graduate-level courses, and courses in stuff I was interested in, but did nothing towards my degree. Most of the AP tests I took were in my majors [Physics and Math], so I wasn't wasting time with the boring freshman intro classes.<br /><br />I did try to retake a subject I knew well [but no AP test for] and got kicked out by the prof. That was the benefit of being in a "connected" high school -- the prof's husband taught me math in high school and told her to kick me up to the next class, which she did. <br /><br />But absent having those sorts of connections, AP exams are really helpful. There are still plenty of "easy A" courses to be had on campus. Don't waste your time on stuff you already know.meephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08893035949118989768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-43189405869588331002009-07-13T03:49:35.710-07:002009-07-13T03:49:35.710-07:00I took 9 AP classes and 11 total AP tests. I have...I took 9 AP classes and 11 total AP tests. I have to say there was a certain seriousness in the AP classes that I didn't see in my other classes. Everyone knew that no amount of brown-nosing would help them pass the test. Also, several teachers offered incentives for doing well on the test, i.e. if you get a 5 you get an A. Students seemed to be more interested in learning the material rather than just getting by.<br /><br />Steve understates the potential impact of AP credit, though. My college (which was the #1 ranked public university the year I matriculated) accepted up to 60 AP/college-equivalent credits out of 120 required for graduation. Thanks to my APs and a couple of other college-credit courses I took, I maxed out on this requirement and entered basically as a junior. If I wanted to, I could have graduated in two years with a normal course load. Of course, this was before tuition started spiraling out of control. My entire four-year education cost substantially less (in-state) than one year of out-of-state tuition today - probably even if you adjusted for inflation. If I had been paying ten to twenty thousand or more a year, I would have certainly been more eager to get my diploma and get out of there. So $1000 for APs (and in my case, the school paid all the AP fees), would be a great deal compared to what you would expect to pay for the same classes even in a public university today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-8842449279916371932009-07-13T02:13:13.479-07:002009-07-13T02:13:13.479-07:00I went to a very average suburban public school in...I went to a very average suburban public school in Ohio, where the teachers discouraged us from taking AP tests and bragged about not "teaching for the exam" during AP classes. That said, I got a 4 on AP U.S. history. I also got a 5 on Calculus BC, even though I never took it. My school only offered first year calculus. But someone told me that you can study a few additional topics on your own (like series) and be prepared for the BC test.<br /><br />IMO, there isn't a huge advantage to taking a ton of AP tests. If you do, it'll put you into Sophomore level classes when you come into college. You may be at a relative disadvantage when it comes to GPA and such. If you took the AP class, sometimes its better to take the entry level college course to get an easy "A".SKTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-70294595642588206782009-07-13T00:41:25.021-07:002009-07-13T00:41:25.021-07:00Steve, you can actually retake AP tests. I did so...Steve, you can actually retake AP tests. I did so for Physics C: Mechanics after getting a 4 the first time around, and a quick Google tells me that the policy hasn't changed.Dog of Justicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02066524758114994073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-41316085388608481422009-07-13T00:11:08.875-07:002009-07-13T00:11:08.875-07:00great article. enjoyed it a lot.
one of my best f...great article. enjoyed it a lot.<br /><br />one of my best friends got a 5 on the calculus BC exam in 1994.<br /><br />without using a calculator.<br /><br />true story: after getting his degree in mathematics, he became a high school teacher. his first job was in philadelphia (!) where he lasted exactly one year in a majority black high school. he then moved back to pittsburgh where he teaches math and coaches the swim team at a suburban high school.<br /><br />i generally feel like a low IQ idiot when i ask him to explain advanced topics in mathematics to me. foundation and theory of math stuff. it is hilarious listening to his stories about considering whether to lecture the black kids about algebra theory.jodynoreply@blogger.com