NCLB: How The Baylor Fiasco Is Really NCLB's Fault

People see the Times' story about Baylor paying freshmen to retake the SATs (Baylor Rewards Freshmen Who Retake SAT) all sorts of different ways, as you might imagine:  Some Inside Higher Ed readers think the story highlights how lame the SAT is (here). Over at TQATE, Kevin Carey thinks that the story raises the bar for university-based cynicism and debunks the notion of "merit" aid (Baylor, the SATs, and "Merit Aid").

Personally, I blame NCLB; Baylor is just imitating the games that schools and districts have developed to make AYP.  It's not their fault -- they're just responding to incentives. 

Meanwhile, the story's not entirely over down in Texas:  Baylor officials defend move to allow students to retake SAT, Faculty Senate decries SAT retakes.

Comments

[CodyPT]

"Personally, I blame NCLB; Baylor is just imitating the games that schools and districts have developed to make AYP. It's not their fault -- they're just responding to incentives."

C'mon....Baylor did it. Did anyone force them to do it? To blame NCLB is just plain ridiculous.

There are a lot of things in life that we are tempted to do. When we choose to do them, and they they turn out to be pretty bad, it is our own fault. Nobody forced us to do them. If we fell for the incentives without thinking through the possible negative consequences, then we should look in the mirror for the person to blame.

It is so ed-chic to always blame someone or something else for actions we have freely chosen that have blown up in our faces.