[Phys-L] Re: On the Impact of Standards

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

> Hi all-
>         I maintain that untrue exaggeration does not help our cause.  As
> an alumnus and contributor to MIT I am personally insulted by the
> sugggestion that the Institute will waive its standards for money.
>                                         Regards,
>                                                 Jack

> Colleges are complaining that about 30-40 percent of students need
> remedial courses to be ready for college science and math. They say
> they require 3 years of math and 3 years of science to be admitted but
> in reality they will admit anyone who can write a check that doesn't
> bounce.

I didn't see any mention of MIT in the original post, and the blanket
statement is actually quite true for many institutions.  Large state schools
in particular let in a large number of students, and expect to bounce a
large fraction back out.  This problem is quite obvious in HS where the math
courses completely fail to teach students how to solve simple equations, let
alone write simple equations.  They come into HS physics thinking that the
water on the outside of a cold glass came from the inside of the glass.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX
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