Sunday, October 30, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Identity Theft
The term 'Identity Theft' was first used in 1964, and is defined as, "The deliberate use of someone elses identity to gain some sort of advantage, financial or otherwise."
Identity theft is quite a large problem in the United States, with approximately 17 million people getting their identity stolen annually. 85% of all identity theft occurs from the misuse of 'sensitive information' such as credit card numbers, ID cards, personal information, etc., showing that irresponsible use of sensitive information is the leading reason for identity theft. Even worse, almost half (45%) of the people with stolen identities don't notice until they are contacted by an outside institution of some kind, such as a bank. After finding out that their identity was stolen, it took 52% of victims to 24 hours or less to fix the situation, while it took 9% of victims over one month to completely resolve the issue.
I would try to implement a small lesson about this in the classroom through our "TrueSuccess" program. Every Tuesday and Thursday we spend about 10 minutes of class discussing charactor traits to develop good thinking and eventually, good habits. I would bring up tips for being careful with sensitive information, especially if it is a parent or guardian's information, and the importance of watching what you post/publish online.
Identity theft is quite a large problem in the United States, with approximately 17 million people getting their identity stolen annually. 85% of all identity theft occurs from the misuse of 'sensitive information' such as credit card numbers, ID cards, personal information, etc., showing that irresponsible use of sensitive information is the leading reason for identity theft. Even worse, almost half (45%) of the people with stolen identities don't notice until they are contacted by an outside institution of some kind, such as a bank. After finding out that their identity was stolen, it took 52% of victims to 24 hours or less to fix the situation, while it took 9% of victims over one month to completely resolve the issue.
I would try to implement a small lesson about this in the classroom through our "TrueSuccess" program. Every Tuesday and Thursday we spend about 10 minutes of class discussing charactor traits to develop good thinking and eventually, good habits. I would bring up tips for being careful with sensitive information, especially if it is a parent or guardian's information, and the importance of watching what you post/publish online.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Which is a better indicator of intelligence, ACT/SAT scores or GPA?
This is an age-old question regarding which scale is better to measure a student's intelligence from, an ACT/SAT score or GPA? There are arguments for/against both sides. ACT/SAT scores are rigorous tests taken over several mentally-depleting hours, and may not accurately represent a student's knowledge base. While a student's GPA is a long-term measurement of consistency and dedication to class work. Counter to these arguments, ACT/SAT scores are the only real measurement of a student's intelligence because that is the nature of a test, to test what students know. GPA only shows effort in the classroom, and not necessarily the level of intelligence for a student. So which arguments are right or wrong? Which one is a better measure of a student's intelligence? We can attempt to answer this question by looking at what both of these measures are typically used for; admittance to college.
My four sources all focused around the use of ACT/SAT and GPA scores in college applications, and how much weight they bear in importance to admission. Three of the sources compared and contrasted pros and cons of the ACT/SAT and GPA measurements while the fourth source listed cons for using standardized testing. The three comparative sources all agreed that standardized test scores are the main factor for accepting/denying students to a college or university. The leading reason for this is because GPA scores are generally inconsistent from school district to school district. A 4.0 from a poorer school district may be comparable to a 2.5 from a high-class school district. This is because wealthier school districts can generally offer more rigorous courses, such as upper-level math and science classes as well as AP courses. These will be more intellectually challenging courses and will typically weigh down on a student's GPA. With no real way of knowing whether a student's 4.0 GPA is a 'real' 4.0, colleges like to rely on standardized test scores because they are consistent across the board for everyone.
However, the Dean of Admissions at Bates College, William Hiss, claims that GPA is the primary indicator of intelligence. Hiss conducted a study of his own, and tracked the graduation rates of students who submitted their standardized test scores to universities vs those that did not. He found that there was virtually no difference between the two groups, showing that academic success was not necessarily linked to a test score.
“The human mind is simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply a trip up a blind alley. I would never say the SATs and ACTs have no predictive value for anybody; they have predictive value for some people. We just don’t find them reliable cross populations,” says Hiss.
I personally believe that both GPA and ACT/SAT scores should have equal weight when applying for college. Standardized testing isn't for everyone, and is certainly not an accurate measuring tool for those that struggle with that type of environment. However, if those types of students are consistently completing classroom work requirements they will have a boosted GPA and be more competitive when applying for college.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students/
https://www.powerscore.com/act/help/act-vs-gpa.cfm
http://education.seattlepi.com/test-scores-vs-gpa-getting-elite-schools-2804.html
http://classroom.synonym.com/college-admissions-gpa-weight-vs-standardized-test-10825.html
My four sources all focused around the use of ACT/SAT and GPA scores in college applications, and how much weight they bear in importance to admission. Three of the sources compared and contrasted pros and cons of the ACT/SAT and GPA measurements while the fourth source listed cons for using standardized testing. The three comparative sources all agreed that standardized test scores are the main factor for accepting/denying students to a college or university. The leading reason for this is because GPA scores are generally inconsistent from school district to school district. A 4.0 from a poorer school district may be comparable to a 2.5 from a high-class school district. This is because wealthier school districts can generally offer more rigorous courses, such as upper-level math and science classes as well as AP courses. These will be more intellectually challenging courses and will typically weigh down on a student's GPA. With no real way of knowing whether a student's 4.0 GPA is a 'real' 4.0, colleges like to rely on standardized test scores because they are consistent across the board for everyone.
However, the Dean of Admissions at Bates College, William Hiss, claims that GPA is the primary indicator of intelligence. Hiss conducted a study of his own, and tracked the graduation rates of students who submitted their standardized test scores to universities vs those that did not. He found that there was virtually no difference between the two groups, showing that academic success was not necessarily linked to a test score.
“The human mind is simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply a trip up a blind alley. I would never say the SATs and ACTs have no predictive value for anybody; they have predictive value for some people. We just don’t find them reliable cross populations,” says Hiss.
I personally believe that both GPA and ACT/SAT scores should have equal weight when applying for college. Standardized testing isn't for everyone, and is certainly not an accurate measuring tool for those that struggle with that type of environment. However, if those types of students are consistently completing classroom work requirements they will have a boosted GPA and be more competitive when applying for college.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students/
https://www.powerscore.com/act/help/act-vs-gpa.cfm
http://education.seattlepi.com/test-scores-vs-gpa-getting-elite-schools-2804.html
http://classroom.synonym.com/college-admissions-gpa-weight-vs-standardized-test-10825.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)