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Jason Svoboda

Jason Svoboda

The Bird Level
Administrator
One of every four students in Indiana State University's record-setting freshman class hails from Indianapolis or its surrounding counties and several Indianapolis high schools are now among the top producers of students choosing Indiana State.

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I saw an ISU commercial a few days ago on one of the Indy tv stations. Ball State is doing a lot of advertising on the Indy stations. University Of Evansville is also doing ads on Indy stations.
 
Jason Svoboda said:
Wrong Indianapolis schools to be going to for better retention rates I'd imagine.
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As long as they go after the students who actually have a chance of succeeding in college, I don't care where they come from. But if we are just going into these schools and taking anyone that breathes, then that's a problem.

And seriously, "...wonderfully diverse cultures..." is now a requisite of where we recruit? Really? What happened to just taking the best students you can get, regardless of what "wonderfully diverse culture" they come from? Merit, merit, merit. Forget all the other crap.
 
I could tell you a few stories about the "wonderfully diverse cultures" I've been in since I started driving in '99 while touching all four corners of the conterminous U.S....but we'll save that for another day!:imslow:
 
BankShot said:
I could tell you a few stories about the "wonderfully diverse cultures" I've been in since I started driving in '99 while touching all four corners of the conterminous U.S....but we'll save that for another day!:imslow:
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I bet you could...:meditate:
 

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IndyTreeFan said:
As long as they go after the students who actually have a chance of succeeding in college, I don't care where they come from. But if we are just going into these schools and taking anyone that breathes, then that's a problem.

And seriously, "...wonderfully diverse cultures..." is now a requisite of where we recruit? Really? What happened to just taking the best students you can get, regardless of what "wonderfully diverse culture" they come from? Merit, merit, merit. Forget all the other crap.
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Did you read the article on writing issues? I'd imagine we've got an idea what level of student is coming in.
 
Jason Svoboda said:
Did you read the article on writing issues? I'd imagine we've got an idea what level of student is coming in.
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My question though is, is this a problem with all students? I know I work with my kids all the time to make sure that they can construct coherent sentences. I have to do that, as the 'texting, facebook, and twitter' generation is bombarded with three and four word, abbreviation filled, incoherent drivel. I confess I didn't read the Statesman article, as I have found most of their writing to be at the third grade level and it gives me a headache. Maybe they've gotten better...
 
IndyTreeFan said:
My question though is, is this a problem with all students? I know I work with my kids all the time to make sure that they can construct coherent sentences. I have to do that, as the 'texting, facebook, and twitter' generation is bombarded with three and four word, abbreviation filled, incoherent drivel. I confess I didn't read the Statesman article, as I have found most of their writing to be at the third grade level and it gives me a headache. Maybe they've gotten better...
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Of course not, but with the retention rates they've got, it sounds like it is a significant portion.
 
I have to question how many of these students from Hendricks and Johnson county had every intention of going to IU or Purdue and did not get in? I also have to question the diversity situation...diversity as a learning tool is bunk, diversity for the sake of diversity is bunk!!!!!!! Diversity is a buzz word that Higher Ed uses to make themselves sound good. Should different people from different places and cultures converge on a college campus, of course they should. Is the influx of students from Indy and the donut counties a diversity issue...NOPE! It is a sign of the times and a sign that ISU finally did 3 things...they actually went to schools like Brownsburg and tried to recruit, they actually made inroads with faculty and guidance counselors at some of these schools and ISU is cheaper and easier to get in to the door! Plain and simple! Harder to get into IU, Purdue, etc. though ISU has raised standards it is still harder to get into those schools. Also, ISU has taken marketshare from Ball U because, well Ball U sucks!
 
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Jason Svoboda said:
Did you read the article on writing issues? I'd imagine we've got an idea what level of student is coming in.
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The incoming class GPA's and Standardized Test scores have risen each year for the last 6 years.
First year of the "Laptop Scholarship - 600 qualified... we now hand out over 1,700 I believe.
 

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Eleven said:
The incoming class GPA's and Standardized Test scores have risen each year for the last 6 years.
First year of the "Laptop Scholarship - 600 qualified... we now hand out over 1,700 I believe.
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That's why I questioned whether or not the writing issue was with the students we are getting or with students in general. It seems like the more we concentrate on standardized tests, the less competent students our schools turn out. We have wasted the educational lives of a generation of students at the altar of the ISTEP. And it has happened nationally, not just in Indiana.
 
I worked for McGraw-Hill for a couple of years part-time grading the ISTEP test as well as the test from Colorado, Florida and Missouri. Sack, is correct in what he is saying about the students only needing to have a thought and not answer in complete sentences. I graded one ISTEP essay question about a boy taking a walk and finding a eagle nests that fell out of a tree after a storm. The boys name was Ron and his father's name was Charles. The story said that Charles went up the tree and with a rope pulled the nest with the baby eagle back in to the tree. The Indiana DOE told us that as long as they had somebody going up the tree and putting the nest back it was correct, it did not matter if they had the actual person going up the tree and it did not matter how they got the nest back up the tree as long as they mentioned it being placed in the tree. Heck, they didn't even have to have the right kind of bird. I can tell you other states are much more particular on their tests grading than Indiana.
 
IndyTreeFan said:
That's why I questioned whether or not the writing issue was with the students we are getting or with students in general. It seems like the more we concentrate on standardized tests, the less competent students our schools turn out. We have wasted the educational lives of a generation of students at the altar of the ISTEP. And it has happened nationally, not just in Indiana.
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I'm talking SAT, ACT, not ISTEP..
Indiana State is also working to setup (as we speak) a new Admissions Application that will have some small essay questions as well. These are very specific questions that allow us to gain some additional information about the student and their experiences.

Saw a news story last night that the Average Indiana SAT score went down, but Vigo Co. went up... although both were VERY slight either way.
 
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Eleven said:
I'm talking SAT, ACT, not ISTEP..
Indiana State is also working to setup (as we speak) a new Admissions Application that will have some small essay questions as well. These are very specific questions that allow us to gain some additional information about the student and their experiences.

Saw a news story last night that the Average Indiana SAT score went down, but Vigo Co. went up... although both were VERY slight either way.
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I understand, but I don't think the SAT/ACT are the problem. The problem stems from the ridiculous emphasis put on the ISTEP, and the amount of time teachers must use in the classroom "teaching the test." We are not raising a generation with critical thinking ability, or with basic abilities to convert thought to written word. These objectives were better served before we all got so enamored of "the test." The test has become the lazy man's way (read: politicians) of evaluating teacher performance.

Our most recent incoming freshman classes might have the highest test scores ever for us, but I don't think they are as educated as kids were who graduated high school 25 years ago...
 
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IndyTreeFan said:
I understand, but I don't think the SAT/ACT are the problem. The problem stems from the ridiculous emphasis put on the ISTEP, and the amount of time teachers must use in the classroom "teaching the test." We are not raising a generation with critical thinking ability, or with basic abilities to convert thought to written word. These objectives were better served before we all got so enamored of "the test." The test has become the lazy man's way (read:politicians) of evaluating teacher performance.

Our most recent incoming freshman classes might have the highest test scores ever for us, but I don't think they are as educated as kids were who graduated high school 25 years ago...
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Tell our state leaders and the big guy Tony Bennett that there are more important aspects of education than test scores. Bennett needs to go! I don't care where just go away!
 

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Gee...such an outpouring of support for the ol' Scottsburg HS hoop coach...:imslow:
 
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