Re: Academic ability?

[Joel Rauber <Joel_Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU>]

> > I'll ask the obvious rhetorical question.  If one believes that
> > self-discipline and responsibility and curiousity are part
> of academic
> > ability (I do), would you still make the same comment on
> its ubiquity?
> > Joel Rauber
> > Joel_Rauber@sdstate.edu
>
> How does the ACT measure those?


I'd say that all tests are measures of a complex conglomeration of
attributes.  E.g. they partially measure your state of health on the day of
the test, they measure your ability to focus on a task, in what is perhaps
a
somewhat distracting environment (all those rustling papers from your
fellow
test takers.  They don't just measure ability at a specific subject and
only
that subject.  Consequently I can not imagine how the ACT's could fail but
to measure in some part one's self-discipline, responsibility and curiosity
in subject.  If I had none of that in grades K-11, how on earth would I get
a reasonable score on say the Algebra section of a math subject test, or
the
genetics section of a biology subject test.  (perhaps guessing lucky I
suppose, but I'd at least have to have the self-discipline to fill in all
the little bubbles on the the machine score sheet.)

My comments are intended as generalizations, for which there may always be
outliers that don't fit the comments; but I imagine they are quite few in
number.

Joel Rauber
Joel_Rauber@sdstate.edu