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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>I’m beginning to feel that we are
trying to objectify something that can’t be nailed down. There are
football players who have natural moves that coaches will say “that can’t
be coached” they just do it naturally. That’s a talent that
can’t be quantified, tested and proved like skill in algebra. Many
players who have been measured, tested, agility tested, inspected, probed etc. and
didn’t get drafted but turned out to be stars. <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:City>’ Tony Romo comes to mind.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>I think college administrators have to
interview, check backgrounds, do their do-diligence but I really have my doubts
that any testing PTG could do would do as well as a good college football scout
can do and they miss a lot. (Please excuse the football metaphors –
it’s the season!) The skill set of the successful CAUT technician
are so varied. I can see a curriculum and a certificate on finishing the
curriculum but the more I think about it, the less impressed I am of the value
of testing. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>I’ve been amused lately with the
focus the Federal Education Department is placing on exit testing for college
graduates. We have a new Associate Dean who is the <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Associate Dean for Research and Institutional Effectiveness</span></i>.
There have been some highly rated colleges where Freshmen were tested and four
years later took a similar test and did worse! Of course the problem is
the test. What were they supposed to be learning in college. To
quote Harvard’s new president “college is not supposed to make
carpenters of men, it’s supposed to make men of carpenters.” Who
knows, this trend might have been the inspiration for the creation of Are You Smarter
Than a Fifth Grader. Passing or failing a test is in large part a matter
of what’s on the test. You can make a successful physician look
dumber than a fifth grader by asking him the name of the 5<sup>th</sup> planet
from the sun. Testing is not an exact science. I have less and less
confidence in testing per se the older I get. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>Just rambling as I contemplate what kind of
test would help find a replacement when I retire.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>dave<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>____________________</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>David M. Porritt, RPT<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="mailto:dporritt@smu.edu">dporritt@smu.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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