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Showing posts from June, 2013

MORE Bad SAT Advice From ETS

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No they didn't! (Yes, they did.) Another day, another SAT math Problem of the Day with bad advice for students from the ETS. I just can't figure out why they continue to foist these horrid explanations on kids. Consider the following problem from May 31, 2013: The stopping distance of a car is the number of feet that the car travels after the driver starts applying the brakes. The stopping distance of a certain car is directly proportional to the square of the speed of the car, in miles per hour, at the time the brakes are first applied. If the car’s stopping distance for an initial speed of   miles per hour is   feet, what is its stopping distance for an initial speed of   miles per hour? (A) 34 feet (B) 51 feet (C) 60 feet (D) 68 feet (E) 85 feet Take some time, think about it, and keep in mind that on average you have less than a minute to do math problems on the SAT and ACT. I don't know where this particular problem would appear in a given math section, but let's a

Thoughts on the Loss of My Grandma

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My maternal grandmother, Geraldine Youcha, died in her sleep this morning. I am 36 years old, and have enjoyed umpteen moments with her throughout my entire life, including my wedding (she and my grandfather walked me down the aisle) and the birth of my two children. And yet, incredibly, I feel utterly unprepared for this, and somehow robbed. I know, these things are not unusual in the least. But my grandmother was entirely unusual. She was not a milk-and-cookies, teddy bears and snuggles kind of woman. Though she did love sweets (especially ice cream, sour cherry strudel from Andre's Cafe on the Upper East Side, and scones with proper English tea), and kept a nice collection of stuffed animals (especially dogs), and her hugs were warm, she was no June Cleaver. My grandma graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism.  She wrote many books and articles throughout her life, including two of some renown: Children of Alcoholism  and Minding the Childre n: A Histor

Putting the UW System Tuition Freeze in Context

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Today's Journal Sentinel has an excellent chart illustrating how the challenge of paying for college in Wisconsin has changed over time The only problem is that neither the chart or the accompanying article addresses the likely assumption of many readers : students who can't pay these costs, even by working, are "held harmless" through financial aid.  For that reason, many say, we should simply raise tuition further and invest that additional revenue in financial aid distributed to the neediest students. To evaluate that claim, let's take a look at the "net price" of attending UW-Madison and UW-comprehensives-- the cost paid by the poorest students after taking into account all grant/scholarship aid provided to offset the sticket price.   At UW-Madison, for the upcoming year 2013-2014, that amount is $13,635.00 for Pell recipients with no expected family contribution.   As you can see in the chart above, that means students from families typically earn