Top-scoring FocusRing™ candidates in February StandOut Challenge interviews win $25,000 in scholarships
Portland, Oregon, March 4, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The fundamental flaw in traditional achievement tests is that these tests: dependent variable Assessing academic performance (e.g. How much mathematics does the student already know?) This creates a contradiction from an educational perspective. While universities aim to teach a subject, they are also constrained by traditional assessment to favor candidates who already know the subject best, which does not necessarily mean that they have the highest tenacity to teach the subject. Not a candidate who works with discipline and tries to learn. Assessing a dependent variable such as students’ math skills provides indirect evidence that high-scoring test takers may also have independent skills of persistence and struggle that facilitate the acquisition and learning of math skills. However, this causal relationship is by no means certain. Particularly in today’s era of SAT superscoring, where students take standardized tests multiple times and both students and schools choose the highest scores, guesswork, statistical anomalies, expensive test instruction, and the cost of multiple tests extraneous factors such as the family’s ability to pay. All of this obscures schools’ ability to identify important behavioral traits of consistency, discipline, and practice that promote academic and career performance. These test preparation techniques and strategies, which are overwhelmingly available to wealthy students and families, bias educational testing toward the wealthy, further exacerbating the national decline in social mobility, and actually suppresses recognition and educational opportunities for less affluent students. , has great skills and discipline in practice and struggle.
Candidates for February’s StandOut Challenge interview will answer questions on video, then watch and evaluate others’ answers through FocusRing™, express themselves around the independent variables of study and work, and It assessed a person’s ability to consistently practice and track their thoughts. Practice shortcuts and “mental maps” to innovate through newly acquired information. These work and study skills form the independent variables of academic and career success. Moreover, unlike essays that can be written and edited by others, or standardized tests that can be played with games, human thinking collectively placed in a focus ring helps ensure the reliability of results and achievements.
Solving the issue of equal opportunity in university admissions
The use of traditional academic scores such as the ACT/SAT in college admissions raises another fundamental problem for schools seeking to increase equality of opportunity. That is, higher scores are most closely correlated with higher household income. According to a recent study from Penn Wharton University, “High school GPA and class rank each have a weak positive correlation with household income, ranging from 0.06 to 0.07, but SAT scores, especially on the math section, have a weak positive correlation with household income. ” Therefore, selecting based on national criteria will be biased toward wealthier students than selecting based solely on school-specific criteria. ”
Research shows that graduation rates can improve if institutions can better identify and enroll students who demonstrate greater commitment and skill in their work and practice. According to Science Connected Magazine, which reported on a study conducted by Angela Duckworth and her team, “The reason high school grades are such a strong predictor of college graduation and overall academic success is that they are linked to factors such as determination and emotion. Dr. Duckworth’s team now finds that what truly predicts timely college graduation is self-regulation, or the determination and perseverance to complete the demanding and demanding tasks. revealed something.
To date, no study has demonstrated that FocusRing can level the socio-economic playing field in college admissions by directly measuring independent variables of practice (variables that indicate determination and perseverance). 1) Is it true that students who come from poor families are forced to work harder, which makes them more determined to work and practice, or 2) Is the opposite true? Does this mean that students who develop greater determination and skill in their practice come from wealthier families, or 3) does household income not correlate with the development of these important traits? ? We don’t know the answer yet, but if we can assign equal probabilities to these three outcomes, new tools like FocusRing have an equal or better chance of solving the problem of equal opportunity in college admissions.?
The world’s first subjective supercomputer
FocusRing has been dubbed the world’s first “subjective supercomputer” because it is the first to extend the cognitive “evaluation” skills of a person answering a question to the subsequent task of evaluating the answers given by others to the same question. Because it’s technology. FocusRing offers shared peer scoring and engagement capabilities and unlimited scalability. During the grading phase of Focus Ring, students are required to listen and learn from others as they perform assigned assessments. In contrast, traditional siled college assessment tests such as the SAT and ACT require test takers to hide their work from each other, cutting off the opportunity to learn from the answers provided by others.
Jim Wolfston, computer scientist and co-inventor of Focus Ring, explains: “When we prepare to answer a question from another person, whether we are in a casual social situation or a formal business setting, we immediately and subconsciously call on three real-time cognitions: Skills: Configuration, evaluation/self-editing, and delivery. During configuration, we select from our own base of ideas, evaluate those ideas, and arrange for delivery. During delivery, we provide internal and auditory feedback. We extend our assessment through the feedback we receive from our listeners, if any.This real-time assessment forms a question-specific mental bridge across the construction and delivery of our own answers. Students are in an advantageous position to apply their own mental evaluation because they have already answered a given question. Moreover, when students evaluate the answers given by others, they learn from them and broaden their base of personal ideas.”
Scholarship recipients embody the importance of patience and persistence
Mia Matos, February Standout Winner® Challenge Interview $25,000 scholarship, demonstrated focus, drive, and self-discipline. She also realized that learning requires patience and a willingness to keep trying.
View an excerpt from the award-winning interview
Schools interested in joining other institutions in the StandOut Admissions Network should contact CollegeNET.
About College Net
CollegeNET, Inc. is a market driver and developer of important new products for higher education, including the world’s first automated classroom scheduling system and the first patented system to provide institution-branded web-based admission forms. Currently, CollegeNET is pioneering new AI/supercomputing/video markets that enhance learning and career opportunities for students and the public.The company’s new Opportunity Drivers suite includes StandOut® Intelligent mirrors and outstanding classrooms. Intelligent Mirror provides patented AI voice analysis technology and self-guided practice to job seekers, professionals, and others who want to improve their speaking skills and confidence (www.standout.com ). Her newly patented StandOut Classroom solves the age-old “degree pathway” problem by introducing a new asynchronous learning environment that does not require a specified time or location. The CollegeNET system is currently used by more than 1,000 institutions around the world for event and academic scheduling, virtual classroom instruction, career preparation, college admissions, campus recruitment, candidate recruitment, and course evaluation. Masu.
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