Standards rise again in the Ivy League! Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) gets pushed aside, at least just a little. Dartmouth College has announced it is reinstating standardized tests as an admissions requirement.
In 2020, like other Ivy League schools, Dartmouth made the SAT and ACT exams optional, bowing to the pressure to appear more “equitable” to students who face socio-economic disadvantages.
When it comes to college expenses, students and parents are making the most important investment in their lives. Four years at Dartmouth costs approximately $335,000. According to Statista, the average student debt after graduation is $25,195.
With that kind of money, a diploma from Dartmouth had better represent the results of merit, hard work, and accountability so that graduates are fully prepared to be engines of accomplishment in a challenging and unyielding world.
But the tenets of DEI stray too far from the principles of high standards that require merit. So, in a course correction, the college stated “the evidence supporting our reactivation of a required testing policy is clear. We believe a standardized testing requirement will improve—not detract from—our ability to bring the most promising and diverse students to our campus.”
The sad truth about DEI is that standards get watered down, because the socialist underpinnings of the DEI dogma revolve around taking from the “oppressors” to give more to the “oppressed.”
But ask students if they want “equity” and “inclusion” in their football and basketball programs. Should those less talented quarterbacks and point guards who don’t put in the work be more “included” and given more playing time to be “equitable?” “Heck no!” students will say, because they want to win.
We all want to see our kids succeed, but no one wins when standards are lowered, accountability falls by the wayside, and merit becomes less important than inclusion. Three cheers for Dartmouth!