Racist Exam Questions?

[Cotton1]

On the surface, this article appears to be about race, but if you read carefully, you'll find out it's really about the public school system.
https://townhall.com/columnists/walt...tions-n2553173

I found this interesting because just yesterday, we were discussing the sentences of the parents who paid to have their children's SAT scores changed.

A claim is made that the standard written test given to police officer applicants is biased against blacks. When the academic levels of blacks is compared to whites, this may be a factual claim. At least in Baltimore.

The point the author is trying to make, however, is that while extraneous circumstances may negatively affect black students disproportionately, teachers should not award diplomas if the students don't actually earn them. What's happening to these black students isn't too far from what the wealthy cheating parents did, which is made it appear as though the student was more advanced than he/she actually was.

My personal opinion about the police officer test is that a high level of writing skills isn't a prerequisite to being a good officer. I'd rather see mental and emotional tests that indicated how an applicant would react in a stress-type situation. I don't care if they misspell a few words or use incorrect grammar.

Back to public schools. I'm not a fan.

I've thought about and agree with what you say about police officers demonstrating cool under fire, ability to assess and prioritize etc. What i never realized was how close the aforementioned resembles what makes a good pilot. A good pilot starts working the problem by addressing what's going to cause harm and working back wards. I'm almost embarressed I did not see the parellels until you said it in the manner in which you did. Thanks

[FindersKeepers]

I've thought about and agree with what you say about police officers demonstrating cool under fire, ability to assess and prioritize etc. What i never realized was how close the aforementioned resembles what makes a good pilot. A good pilot starts working the problem by addressing what's going to cause harm and working back wards. I'm almost embarressed I did not see the parellels until you said it in the manner in which you did. Thanks

I can see the parallels now that you bring them up. Both would require cool heads and the ability to think under pressure. I like the way you explained that a pilot addresses what could cause harm and then works backwards.

Maybe law enforcement training could take a closer look at pilot training.

[Lummy]

On the surface, this article appears to be about race, but if you read carefully, you'll find out it's really about the public school system ...

... I'm not a fan.

From the article:

I'm wondering when the black community will demand an end to an educational environment that condemns so many youngsters to mediocrity.

Really?

The entire charade is absolutely ridiculous. Reams and reams and reams of information about why things don't work in Baltimore, or Chicago, or Detroit belies the BS. They are corrupt as hell, and even where they aren't, they are highly dysfunctional.

Watch a few youtubes of Detroit city council in session, for example. They get nothing done because all they do is bicker and wield rules of procedure against each other to establish dominance. Hello? That's just government as usual in these urban haunts, but it is government they understand.

To make a long, boring tirade short, as long as there is a democrat party, probably nothing is ever going to work. The public money stream, after all, depends on it. If in some small exceptional case something did work, they might make a movie about it, but thereafter they would squash it. The main goal of bureaucracy is to grow the bureaucracy.

Especially democrats depend on dysfunction to stimulate, grow and preserve their public revenue streams. In recent years, the democrat party itself has been outed as the root of the problems they purport to resolve, which means nothing is going to improve until the democrat party, as it exists, is abolished.

[Lummy]

Now consider Congress. It also has become corrupt and dysfunctional.

[Adelaide]

On the surface, this article appears to be about race, but if you read carefully, you'll find out it's really about the public school system.
https://townhall.com/columnists/walt...tions-n2553173

I found this interesting because just yesterday, we were discussing the sentences of the parents who paid to have their children's SAT scores changed.

A claim is made that the standard written test given to police officer applicants is biased against blacks. When the academic levels of blacks is compared to whites, this may be a factual claim. At least in Baltimore.

The point the author is trying to make, however, is that while extraneous circumstances may negatively affect black students disproportionately, teachers should not award diplomas if the students don't actually earn them. What's happening to these black students isn't too far from what the wealthy cheating parents did, which is made it appear as though the student was more advanced than he/she actually was.

My personal opinion about the police officer test is that a high level of writing skills isn't a prerequisite to being a good officer. I'd rather see mental and emotional tests that indicated how an applicant would react in a stress-type situation. I don't care if they misspell a few words or use incorrect grammar.

Back to public schools. I'm not a fan.

Except that the ability to produce a legible and accurate report is essential to the entire process. If information is inaccurate or poorly written, there's a problem that could be serious enough to impact prosecution. The procedural and administrative aspects of working in law enforcement constitute a good portion of the job. I think it would also translate to tasks like using national databases. What if you lack the vocabulary or literacy level to include subtle information? What if in a report, you use the wrong word to describe a scenario rather than a synonym or similar word that would accurately describe it? When a judge or defense attorney or prosecutor cannot read your report and no longer respects you as an officer, what happens next? Credibility and respect are essential, and often communication is a big part of that.

[FindersKeepers]

Except that the ability to produce a legible and accurate report is essential to the entire process. If information is inaccurate or poorly written, there's a problem that could be serious enough to impact prosecution. The procedural and administrative aspects of working in law enforcement constitute a good portion of the job. I think it would also translate to tasks like using national databases. What if you lack the vocabulary or literacy level to include subtle information? What if in a report, you use the wrong word to describe a scenario rather than a synonym or similar word that would accurately describe it? When a judge or defense attorney or prosecutor cannot read your report and no longer respects you as an officer, what happens next? Credibility and respect are essential, and often communication is a big part of that.

I agree that communication is important, and so is record keeping for prosecutorial reasons, but first and foremost, we need officers who can successfully interact with the public; officers who have the ability to verbally deescalate sticky situations and who are dedicated to serving and protecting.

Obviously, we can't completely eliminate all communication requirements, but I've worked for doctors in the past and it took an uncanny skill just to translate their chicken scratchings. That's why a lot of doctors went with recorded reports and transcriptionists are tasked with putting them on paper. My point is that there's usually a way around the problem of someone not being able to spell well.

I'm not suggesting we completely get rid of written tests. I'm suggesting we put them in perspective. This - to me - is not related to an affirmative action agenda, but rather to one of common sense.

I'd like to see a copy of the written test they're required to take right now -- that'd be the simplest way to determine whether it's suitable or it's overkill.

[MisterVeritis]

Except that the ability to produce a legible and accurate report is essential to the entire process. If information is inaccurate or poorly written, there's a problem that could be serious enough to impact prosecution. The procedural and administrative aspects of working in law enforcement constitute a good portion of the job. I think it would also translate to tasks like using national databases. What if you lack the vocabulary or literacy level to include subtle information? What if in a report, you use the wrong word to describe a scenario rather than a synonym or similar word that would accurately describe it? When a judge or defense attorney or prosecutor cannot read your report and no longer respects you as an officer, what happens next? Credibility and respect are essential, and often communication is a big part of that.

One option is to hire technical writers to write the reports.