LC 5.11: Higher Education Dehelmintization Act a.k.a. HEDA (Failed)

[OneJ]

AN ACT
to make higher education an even playing field

Section 1 (Title & definitions)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Higher Education Dehelmintization Act." It may be cited as "HEDA."
ii. As it appears in this legislation, "third party assessment" refers to any standardized test developed other than by the Lincoln Department of Education or the state or district where the student is enrolled.
iii. As it appears in this legislation, "third party program" refers to any course, program, or curriculum developed other than by the Lincoln Department of Education or the state, district, or public college or university where the student is or was enrolled, not including volunteer, professional, or military service, for which the student is assessed a fee.

Section 2 (Purgation)
i. No public college or university shall accept or consider the results of a third party assessment as supplementary material to an application for admission.
ii. No public college or university shall accept for credit the results of a third party assessment or other proof of completion of a third party program.
iii. No high school funded in whole or in part by the Region of Lincoln shall administer any third party assessment, nor offer any third party program.

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. §2(i, iii) of this Act shall take effect with the 2021-2022 academic year.
ii. §2(ii) of this Act shall take effect with the 2024-2025 academic year.

Sponsor: OneJ
Status: Debating

The debating period has commenced. It shall last no less than 72 hours.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

My thanks to the speaker. Pretty straightforward: among the many, many inequities which plague the college admissions process is the profusion of third-party tests (mainly propagated by the so-called "College Board") which claim to prepare students for higher education, but in reality represent a scam wherein students are charged exorbitant fees to participate in these effectively mandatory assessments. Combined with test prep courses, the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, these third-party assessments in effect penalize poor students for being poor and make the college admissions process about wealth, not aptitude. This bill would bar public colleges in Frémont from considering the results of third-party assessments towards admissions decisions and prohibit public schools from teaching AP and IB (or similar) courses.

Would students still be allowed to take part in third party tests which are optional such as Maths Olympiads or ICAS, for example? Because students should still be given the option to take part in these regional or national competitions.

Based on what I know of these programs, I would not consider either Math Olympiads or ICAS to be standardized tests as that term is defined by this bill. So yes, students would still be able to participate in extracurricular competitions.

If possible I'd also be partial to extending this into a more broader regulation of school testing, including limits on multiple choice tasks.

I would certainly be open to this. Frémont already has some restrictions on testing in public schools, but I would welcome an appropriate expansion to ensure our students are being assessed on their mastery of subject matter, not their ability to jump through arbitrary hoops.

Also, is Dehelmintization a word? Because I'm pretty sure it isn't, and a cursory check of reputable dictionaries agree with me. The only result I could find is another word for pet deworming?

It is a derivation referring to the expulsion of parasites from a host —which is, after all, the object of this bill.

[S019]

I am opposed to this

I find it impractical to phase out tests like those from the College Board. Especially since these tests are used in so many different ways and there are so many different types of tests. And of course, there are more so-called “third-party” tests other than College Board. I think that this bill will make it much harder to assess the intellectual capacity of students, and as such I oppose this bill.

[OneJ]

I am opposed to this

I find it impractical to phase out tests like those from the College Board. Especially since these tests are used in so many different ways and there are so many different types of tests. And of course, there are more so-called “third-party” tests other than College Board. I think that this bill will make it much harder to assess the intellectual capacity of students, and as such I oppose this bill.

Third-party don't necessarily test individuals based on their intellectual capacity, they test them based on how well the individuals know the content on that particular test. Also, while your third-party assessments often test students on a variety of topics how do we know that the topics that students were tested on what would actually prepare them for their pathway through college (and beyond)?

[AustralianSwingVoter]

I am opposed to this

I find it impractical to phase out tests like those from the College Board. Especially since these tests are used in so many different ways and there are so many different types of tests. And of course, there are more so-called “third-party” tests other than College Board. I think that this bill will make it much harder to assess the intellectual capacity of students, and as such I oppose this bill.

Third-party don't necessarily test individuals based on their intellectual capacity, they test them based on how well the individuals know the content on that particular test. Also, while your third-party assessments often test students on a variety of topics how do we know that the topics that students were tested on what would actually prepare them for their pathway through college (and beyond)?

And why shouldn't colleges just use the tests already administered to all students by the High Schools? Why should they force aspiring students to pay to take their own tests?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I am opposed to this

I find it impractical to phase out tests like those from the College Board. Especially since these tests are used in so many different ways and there are so many different types of tests. And of course, there are more so-called “third-party” tests other than College Board. I think that this bill will make it much harder to assess the intellectual capacity of students, and as such I oppose this bill.

Third-party don't necessarily test individuals based on their intellectual capacity, they test them based on how well the individuals know the content on that particular test. Also, while your third-party assessments often test students on a variety of topics how do we know that the topics that students were tested on what would actually prepare them for their pathway through college (and beyond)?

And why shouldn't colleges just use the tests already administered to all students by the High Schools? Why should they force aspiring students to pay to take their own tests?

Quite. That's to say nothing of the dubious academic value of so-called "AP" and "IB" courses.

[lfromnj]

Frankly its not a great bill without a replacement idea. AP tests can save  students thousands of dollars through college as its generally like I think its about $90 to take the test and a 4 or 5 should be good at most institutions to get great and CC's usually accept 3s. 90 dollars to get 3 -4 credits is great.  This bill really shouldn't be passed at all this stage. I can definitely understand getting rid of the fee problem but you can't just remove the entire system even if you give a few years. I would highly recommend the Council either votes nay on this or amends it.

[Former President tack50]

I thank the Honorable OneJ for introducing this on my behalf. I PMed this bill to the 3 Councillors in hopes that one would sponsor this great piece of legislation introduced by Truman in Fremont, to follow their lead in this area.

Anyways, regarding the points made by the Council I will say my intention wasn't just to remove financial barriers, but I am also attracted to this proposal as it would ensure an "even playing field" by the time that students enter college, without advantaging some students over others.

Honestly I would also like a general college reorganization bill to be passed shortly after this (much like how the Lincoln Education Act I wrote did for K-12 education). I might sponsor such a measure in Congress when I swear into the House, but it's unlikely (or at least will be very limited in scope) as I feel education is a regional issue and not one to be handled by the federal government.

Also relevant in this discussion might be 2 bills discussed by the Lincoln Council in the past. The first being the End Unhelpful Tests Act, which tried to limit standardized testing

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=321133.0

The second isn't really related though it does give insight into Lincoln's current education structure (Lincoln Education Act)

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=322138.0

[OneJ]

Frankly its not a great bill without a replacement idea. AP tests can save  students thousands of dollars through college as its generally like I think its about $90 to take the test and a 4 or 5 should be good at most institutions to get great and CC's usually accept 3s. 90 dollars to get 3 -4 credits is great.  This bill really shouldn't be passed at all this stage. I can definitely understand getting rid of the fee problem but you can't just remove the entire system even if you give a few years. I would highly recommend the Council either votes nay on this or amends it.

It's a good point you mentioned about AP tests and others similar to it like IB can save students a lot. I probably should have clarified this, but the tests I'm primarily focused on are the ACT and SAT. Those two tests are make-or-breaks for many students seeking admission into many, but not all, higher institutions of learning and many of them put so much weight onto these tests when really all those tests do is test how much students know the content on the particular test that they're taking. However, I'm open to amending this.

On a side note, for students receiving free/reduced lunch it's $45 for AP tests.

[S019]

Any further debate here, I don’t support this as I already said, but I think we should have a bit more debate here.

[OneJ]

I don't have anything to add to the debate for this, so I'll motion for a final vote. Councilors have 24 hours to object.

[S019]

Also regardless of whether or not this passes, I will work on a bill to create an alternative test to the SAT/ACT, which will be administered by the Government of Lincoln. I think that, that is a better approach than just making the SAT and ACT no longer count.

[OneJ]

A final vote has opened and councilors have 48 hours to vote AYE, NAY or abstain on the bill.

[S019]

NAY!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pragmatist_TNAG]

Nay

[OneJ]

Aye.

[OneJ]

AYE: 1 (OneJ)
NAY: 2 (S019, Pragmatist_TNAG)
Abstain: 0

With the council voting 2-1 against the bill, LC 5.11 has been rejected.