University Admission Testing and Covid-19: A ‘Conversation’ with Christopher Deluca

Dr. Chrisopher Deluca, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Associate Dean School of Graduate Studies at Queen’s University joins us in this installment of Campus Beat. Deluca chats with us about an article he recently co-wrote with Profs. Don Klinger (University of Waikato) and Louis Volante (Brock University) in The Conversation entitled “University Admissions Tests Like the SATs Are under Scrutiny Especially in the Age of Covid-19.”

In our conversation, Deluca explains what college and university admissions tests like SATs and ACTs actually measure, why these tests have come under scrutiny and how COVID 19 has amplified this scrutiny. In particular, we chat about arguments for and against testing as an objective metric upon which students are evaluated in light of the equity issues and disparities including racial and cultural bias testing may both reveal and exacerbate. Finally, Deluca also sheds light on the critical role teachers can and do play in assessments for students while offering advice to parents of teens thinking about applying to study at a university.

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