Rep. Ford Says Illinois Will Soon Be First in Nation to Offer Free, Universal Test and Licensure Prep for Public University Students – Southland Journal
The fiscal year 2024 State of Illinois budget includes $10 million for free test prep classes for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The program also offers Free Professional Licensure Preparation for Nursing, Teaching, Real Estate, and Securities Professional Exams.
If these tests exist in 5 years time it will be interesting to see what the average scores are as compared to the pre pandemic timeframe. Between Covid and the decision by universities to stop using standardized tests as part of the admittance process, I would be surprised if scores haven’t decreased significantly. Wokeness, equity and diversity are all well and good, but I’d prefer meritocracy when it comes to critical professions, you know, like doctors.
As you know, “affirmative action” used to be the widely-used term. Who knows how many sweet job offers I didn’t receive because of this program?
With many bureaucratic jobs, it doesn’t matter who gets them. However, for jobs especially in the private sector requiring a certain level of expertise in engineering, science, law, etc., it matters a great deal. For these jobs, companies making poor hiring choices lose competitiveness or worse.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
If these tests exist in 5 years time it will be interesting to see what the average scores are as compared to the pre pandemic timeframe. Between Covid and the decision by universities to stop using standardized tests as part of the admittance process, I would be surprised if scores haven’t decreased significantly. Wokeness, equity and diversity are all well and good, but I’d prefer meritocracy when it comes to critical professions, you know, like doctors.
You prefer a meritocracy, but the people in charge now prefer racial set-asides.
As you know, “affirmative action” used to be the widely-used term. Who knows how many sweet job offers I didn’t receive because of this program?
With many bureaucratic jobs, it doesn’t matter who gets them. However, for jobs especially in the private sector requiring a certain level of expertise in engineering, science, law, etc., it matters a great deal. For these jobs, companies making poor hiring choices lose competitiveness or worse.