Instructor: Bill Tucker                                                                                  Office: 225-6545
Office: Armitage 343                                                                                    Home: 354-0119
Office hours: Monday & Wednesday, 4:00-5:00                                          Department: 225-6520

Course Description:

The competition for entry into the "elite" colleges and universities has become increasingly intense.
For many young people, the process of seeking admission to such schools has become a nerve-wracking
experience, as mysterious as it is competitive.  It has also spawned a whole series of consultants and
services that promise to improve SAT scores, counsel students on the best choice of school, and then
market them effectively.  Meanwhile, in social science literature, public discourse, and the courts, the
society debates aspects of the decision process, such as affirmative action and the fairness of aptitude
tests.  In this course we will examine the admissions process and a number of the controversies that
are associated with it.
 

Goals of the Course:

     To explore some of the controversial social issues associated with college admissions
     To improve persuasive writing skills; i.e., to be able to take a position and defend it in writing
     To learn to gather information from sources other than published work
 

Evaluation:

     There will be no traditional exams in the course.  Grades will be based on the following factors:

          3 short papers (5 pages each) - 1/3
          1 long (final) paper (12-15 pages) - 1/3
          Class participation - 1/3
 

Required Reading:

Jacques Steinberg, The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of  Premier College (Viking, 2002)

                                                                     CLASS SCHEDULE:

September 2  -  Introduction to the course
 
 

September 9  -  How has the society changed in the last half century?
                         How have these changes been reflected in college admissions?

     Reading (electronic reserve): Domhoff, "The American Upper Class" (from Who Rules America?)
 
 

September 16  -  How do secondary schools differ from each other?
                           How much difference does money make?

     Reading (electronic reserve): Kozol, "Children of the City Invincible" (from Savage Inequalities)
 
 

September 23  -  The elite schools: Which are they and why?
                           Instructions for the first paper

     Reading: Steinberg, The Gatekeepers
 
 

September 30  -  The admissions process at the elite schools.

                           First paper due
 
 

October 7  -  The history of attempts to assess "intelligence".
                      Development of the SATs

     Reading: Lemann, "The Structure of Success in America" (from The Atlantic)
                   Lemann, "The Great Sorting" (from The Atlantic)
 
 

October 14  -  The "Jeopardy" factor: How important is factual knowledge?

     Reading (electronic reserve): Hirsch, "Literacy and Cultural Literacy" (from Cultural Literacy)
 
 

October 21  -  Coaching and marketing: Who does it and how effective is it?
                        Instructions for the second paper.

     Reading: Kaplan, Test Pilot
                  (electronic reserve): Owen, "Multiple Guess" (from None of the Above)
                                                 Owen, "Beating the Test" (from None of the Above)
                                                 Zwick, "Gaming the Tests" (from Fair Game?)
 
 

October 28  -  A closer look at the SATs

                        Second paper due
 
 

November 4  -  What is affirmative action?  The models.
                         Why is affirmative action?  The rationales.

     Reading (electronic reserve): D'Souza, "More Equal Than Others" (from Illiberal Education)
                                                 Thernstrom & Thernstrom, "Higher Learning" (from America
                                                            in Black and White)
                                                 Bowen & Bok, "Civic Participation and Satisfaction with Life"
                                                             (from The Shape of the River)
                                                 Bowen & Bok, "Diversity" (from The Shape of the River)
 
 

November 11  -  Affirmative action and the law
 
 

November 18  -  An affirmative action case in (great) detail
                           Instructions for the third paper

     Reading: Suskind: A Hope in the Unseen
 
 

November 25 - No class; school is on Thursday schedule
 
 

December 2  -  Discussion of Hope in the Unseen continued
                        Instructions for final paper

                        Third paper due
 
 

December 9  -  Conclusion to the course: Where are we heading?

     Reading (electronic reserve): Herrnstein, "IQ" (from The Atlantic)
 
 

                                            Final paper due on December 16