Test 2

How cool is John Krasinski? The full video is worth your time for some good feels. And, I think that we all need some of that right now.

Epcot, looking at Future World from the World Showcase, on our last trip

Given all of the shut-downs due to Novel Coronavirus, it's certainly no surprise that all of the Disney-related theme parks (as well as non-Disney attractions as well) have completely closed. I was reading the other day about the financial impact that it has on the Disney company specifically (estimates are between $20 million and $30 million lost every day that the parks are closed). /Film has an interesting post up about the impact:

Understandably, among the things taking a pause are construction projects. Walt Disney World, ever-expanding in its 43 square miles of space, has plenty of projects in the pipeline, but they’re taking a break for now. What kind of projects are affected? Well, everything from the TRON Lightcycle attraction to the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel was in some form of construction. Those projects’ original arrival dates are now pushed back to who knows when.

[snip]

Of course, who knows when the parks will be open again. California is essentially shut down for the next four weeks, and Governor Gavin Newsom has said he can imagine that shut down being doubled. In fraught times such as these, it’s especially frustrating that we can’t have escapism such as the theme parks to forget our troubles. For now, do what I’m doing: watch YouTube videos of theme-park rides, shows, and more. Listen to Disney theme-park background music. And most importantly: whoever you are, wherever you are, stay safe and healthy.

My emphasis.

On our last trip the Wife and I spent a great deal of time at Galaxy's Edge in Disney's Hollywood Studios (more about that trip here). While we greatly enjoyed the experience (and were fortunate to fit it in just before the whole planet shut down), I'm not sure that I'm ready to splurge for the Galactic Starcruiser hotel. I am disappointed that the TRON Lightcycle will be pushed back. I also imagine that the Guardians of the Galaxy feature at Epcot will also be delayed.

But back to that emphasized text in the quote. Being the Disney parks dork that I am (and that my wife is as well, for the record), I have already bookmarked several YouTube playlists to give me a Disney fix when I need it.

If you want the soundtrack that is the in-room information channel you can check out this link, or subscribe to ResortTV1 on YouTube. They post lots of a great park-related content.

Grand Avenue has - in my humble opinion - the best soundtrack in ALL of the parks. This is what I refer to as the "backlot" area at Disney's Hollywood Studios (from ABC Commissary toward Muppetvision 3D, just before you enter Galaxy's Edge). It has a funky/jazzy inspiration and includes The Meters, Lettuce, and the New Mastersounds, to name a few. You can check that out here, and also peep the Magical Soundtracks channel for other great soundtrack loops.

So, for those of us that need a quick fix of that good Disney stuff, there are a couple of resources for you regardless of how long the parks are closed.

Screenrant does a fantastic job documenting the what and why of the Force Dyad in the Star Wars universe:

The Force Dyad appears to be an entirely natural phenomenon. According to Charles Soule's tie-in comic The Rise of Kylo Ren, it first manifested when Ben Solo began to surrender to the dark side. He was locked in a duel with the leader of the Knights of Ren, and abandoned himself to the darkness for the first time; far away, on the desert planet of Jakku, a young desert rat named Rey suddenly felt cold. It's clear, then, that the Dyad was created by the express will of the Force itself, rather than from intervention by any third party.

The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary stresses the Dyad can be cultivated. That happened years later, when Kylo Ren captured Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and attempted to probe her mind. This fits perfectly with Jason Fry's novelization of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in which he explained this was how Rey learned so much about the Force so fast.

[snip]

It's telling that, immediately after the Dyad had been cultivated, Rey was able to use a Jedi mind trick to escape her cell on Starkiller Base; shortly after, she was able to match Kylo Ren in a duel.

[snip]

The morality of Star Wars is usually quite simple, with a strong dichotomy between light and dark. The Jedi are seen as servants of the light side of the Force, while the Sith are of the dark. But it's increasingly becoming clear this is a perversion of the original Jedi teachings; Star Wars: The Last Jedi featured a mural showing the Prime Jedi, and it showed a teacher whose philosophy was very different. Light and dark were given equal prominence in the mural, with the Prime Jedi representing the darkness in the light, and the light in the darkness. This was supported by Cavan Scott's audiobook Dooku: Jedi Lost, which revealed the ancient Jedi treated balance as a separate aspect of the Force, like light and dark.

Rey and Ben Solo both know the light and dark sides of the Force. However hard Rey attempts to commit to the light, there is still anger and pain bubbling up within her - explosively so, when she unleashed Force Lightning in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Ben Solo, meanwhile, has never been able to quiet the siren song of the light side of the Force. Palpatine intended Han Solo's murder to push Kylo to the dark side beyond the point of no return, but Han sabotaged it by his willingness to die for his son, unwittingly ensuring Ben never truly committed to the dark side. Like the Prime Jedi, both Rey and Ben are the light in the darkness, and the darkness in the light. The more they grew in the Force, the stronger their Dyad bond became.

Keep reading the article for more details.

Here's what is great about these new details: the movie(s) never fully developed this idea. Throughout the final trilogy (that focused on Rey), fans were left mouth agape when Rey would flex Jedi skills. When Rey was a captive on Starkiller Base and was able to mind trick a First Order Stormtrooper (ably played by none other than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig), I was left thinking that it took Luke Skywalker several years to hone that skill.

With these additional details, we now can more clearly understand why Rey was so suddenly able to use the Force with the skill of a full-fledged Jedi (or Sith). It would have been nice to have some of this explained in "The Force Awakens" - but at least we're getting it now.

Of late - with the LARGE exception of COVID-19 related information - the buzz in my Twitter timeline is almost wholly that from the pro-test-optional community. I count myself as one who supports that initiative.

Students applying to any Indiana University campus may soon have the option of whether to include their scores from standardized tests like the SAT or ACT with their application materials.

During its December meeting, the IU Board of Trustees approved a change in policy allowing each IU campus the option to adopt a test-optional admissions policy. Faculty leadership from each campus will now have its chance to set its own policy.

Academic success at the college level depends on a range of factors, with the greatest importance placed on academic preparation. Research shows that, for many students, high school GPA provides the best prediction of academic success in college.

Okay, so the headline says that IU is "one step closer" to test-optional, and "faculty leadership from each campus to set its own policy". But, if you look at IU Bloomington's admissions website (arguably the "flagship" campus), you get a BUNCH of info and FAQs about the test-optional policy:

Screenshot from admissions.iu.edu

And it's all effective for students applying for admission in 2021.

Conversely, it was recently revealed that the University of California system - despite mounting pressure to abolish the use of the ACT - would keep standardized exams as part of their admission requirements:

The Academic Senate of the University of California assembled a task force in 2018 to evaluate the system’s current use of standardized tests. On Monday that task force delivered a much-anticipated report listing several recommendations. Not among the recommendations? Tossing the tests.

While the authors considered what it might look like for the large public university system to go test optional and not require SAT or ACT scores in the admissions process, they ultimately declined to endorse that option.

For EM nerds, you can view/download the full STTF report here. It's a lot.

For me, the most interesting part of the story was to keep tests in play despite earlier signs that the UC system would decide to abolish the requirement. Eric Hoover at The Chronicle of Higher Education breaks it down nicely.

On Monday a panel appointed by the University of California’s Academic Senate delivered a long-awaited report examining the system’s standardized-testing requirements. The bottom-line recommendation: The university, at least for the near future, should continue requiring the ACT or SAT for admission.

Critics of college-entrance exams had hoped that the report would recommend that the system stop requiring them, especially after some of the university’s most prominent leaders publicly questioned their value last year. Instead, the panel pumped the brakes, recommending that the university conduct further research on the possible effects of dropping the requirement.

My emphasis. There were many that thought the system would stop using tests as an admission requirement to the University of California generally.

But, for my mind, the most striking part of the report is the assertion that high school grade point average is not as accurate a predictor of first-year collegiate GPA as standardized test scores are:

How well do UC’s current standardized testing practices assess entering high school students for UC readiness? How well do UC current standardized testing practices predict student success in the context of its comprehensive review process?

The STTF [Standardized Testing Task Force] found that standardized test scores aid in predicting important aspects of student success, including undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), retention, and completion. At UC, test scores are currently better predictors of first-year GPA than high school grade point average (HSGPA), and about as good at predicting first-year retention, UGPA, and graduation. For students within any given (HSGPA) band, higher standardized test scores correlate with a higher freshman UGPA, a higher graduation UGPA, and higher likelihood of graduating within either four years (for transfers) or seven years (for freshmen). Further, the amount of variance in student outcomes explained by test scores has increased since 2007, while variance explained by high school grades has decreased, although altogether does not exceed 26%. Test scores are predictive for all demographic groups and disciplines, even after controlling for HSGPA. In fact, test scores are better predictors of success for students who are Underrepresented Minority students (URMs), who are first-generation, or whose families are low-income: that is, test scores explain more of the variance in UGPA and completion rates for students in these groups. One consequence of dropping test scores would be increased reliance on HSGPA in admissions. The STTF found that California high schools vary greatly in grading standards, and that grade inflation is part of why the predictive power of HSGPA has decreased since the last UC study.

Again, my emphasis.

The reason that I find this information striking is because it flies in the face of years of research that contradicts the assertion; how a student performs over four years in high school is the strongest predictor of how that student will perform at a post-secondary institution.

Indeed there is a large body of evidence that shows a positive correlation between high school GPA and SAT scores. When used in conjunction with high school performance, standardized exam scores (such as the ACT or SAT) enhance the prognostic value to the method being used to predict academic success in college.

But many studies show that GPA alone is the best individual predictor of academic success (particularly in English and math coursework) of traditional-aged first-time college students. Here's a great example from 2017:

High school grade point average was consistently predictive of college performance among recent high school graduates regardless of whether they were from rural or urban parts of Alaska. Although the students attended different high schools, their high school grade point average was similarly predictive. High school grades may be more predictive than standardized exam scores and consistently predictive regardless of high school urbanicity because they are a measure of cumulative performance over time and thus quantify other skills or competencies—beyond reading and math proficiency—that are necessary to succeed in college.

The full study is here.

Given the academic evidence that mounts in favor of high school GPA/performance, I struggle to see how the UC system can assert that test scores out-perform secondary school performance in predicting collegiate success. That argument simply defies logic (and most academic literature on the topic that I have seen).

Throw in all of the recent activity related to the Novel Coronavirus, and you've got quite a slew of institutions adding to the growing list of colleges and universities that are going test-optional:

“These scores have always made up just a portion of our evaluation of prospective students, and we don't want our future applicants to feel hamstrung by circumstances far outside their control,” said Peter Shulman, associate professor of history and chair of Faculty Senate Committee on Undergraduate Education.

The change will be effective with those who apply to Case Western in the fall of 2021.

Also going test optional and citing the test cancellations were Concordia University Texas, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and Westminster College, also of Pennsylvania.

Other colleges are shifting to test optional but not citing the current health crisis. Announcements in recent weeks include Chapman University, Hamline University, St. Bonaventure University and the University of Redlands.

...and we still have about six weeks to go until the end of the spring semester.

For me, no additional evidence is required to understand that how a given student performs over a four-year period in high school (i.e. a longer-term period) is going to be a very strong predictor of how they will perform over a four-year (or, if they are like me in college, a FIVE-year period) in higher education. The challenge for a large, research institution like Penn State is to develop a way to assess an applicant using a multitude of factors in lieu of standardized exam scores. The aforementioned IU model certainly has my interest piqued, and I will be continuing to watch very closely as things continue to unfold.

Before zombie apocalypse movies and tv shows were all the rage, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost created what I think is the best zombie movie ever: Shaun of the Dead.

If you are unfamiliar, here's a taste of the film (and the undercurrent of humor throughout):



Because of the Coronavirus outbreak, they have taken to the Internet to update that scene, and add a bit of their sense of humor:



In the end, I too just want to have a pint and wait for this to all blow over. You?

Head nod: /Film

There has been a lot of activity in my timeline about colleges changing their business practices due to the coronavirus. Yesterday I listened to a highly relevant piece at NPR (shout-out to Elissa Nadworny) about how COVID-19 is impacting students looking to attend college. Listen here. Some good print-takeaway:

[High school senior Xander] Christou spent most of last fall like many high school seniors: researching and applying to schools. He planned to spend the spring visiting some of the campuses he was accepted to. "Online, the colleges are just names and logos and programs," he says, "nothing will compare to actually being on campus and speaking face-to-face with current students."

But with so many colleges shutting down, all of those visits have been cancelled — including one "candidate weekend" on NYU's Abu Dhabi campus that was all-expense paid. "I was very excited for that," he says, "all I had to do was pack and go to the airport." He would have gotten back home last week. The return flight, without him on it, got cancelled too.

Of course it's more than just the visits — he's waiting on his financial aid offers, too. Money, and how his family is going to pay for college, has become even more important.

Indeed. And that's why we are seeing more and more institutions pushing the May 1st acceptance date to June 1st (or later).

Like the rest of the nation world, this COVID thing is impacting everything, and college admissions is no exception. However, how colleges and universities react to the challenges that are presented are very different. The next few weeks are going to see a lot of changes in the way that institutions of higher education recruit and enroll their classes...

But instead of focusing on our business processes, we should be taking direction from the needs of the students that we are recruiting. We shouldn't be concerned with "what we have always done" or "what will enhance our yield". Rather, we should be bending over backwards to help students - even if said students decide to not attend our institution.

This is a time in history when humans should all be helping each other, and the college search process should be no different.

Is this an uneasy time? Yes. Does each day bring about even more uncertainty? Absolutely. But, as I've been saying to our team, "We need to start to be comfortable with the discomfort that these times are bringing." If we can do that, we can help students get through the process of figuring out what to do after high school graduation.

A little over two years ago my family "cut the cord" from satellite television and went full-tilt into streaming services. I've talked previously about my love/obsession with Disney Plus and we also have a subscription to Prime Video (my most recent win there is The Boys). Additionally, we share a subscription to Hulu and Netflix. One other service that I recommend is Vudu - as they have a large catalog of streaming options (though you have to occasionally sit through a commercial or two).

What a cool concept!

From Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation) comes Upload, a new sci-fi comedy. In the near future, people who are near death can be “uploaded” into virtual reality environments. Cash-strapped Nora works customer service for the luxurious “Lakeview” digital afterlife. When party-boy/coder Nathan’s car crashes, his girlfriend uploads him into Nora’s VR world.

The ten episode run will start streaming on Prime Video on May 1st.

Head nod: /Film

Amid all of the COVID-19 news, I missed this not-so-small headline: Admissions Counselors Move to Change Code of Ethics From Mandatory to Best Practices:

The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s Board of Directors approved at its March meeting last week a motion to change its Code of Ethics and Professional Practices from a mandatory code to a statement of best practices.

NACAC moved to make the change after a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation, said its president, Jayne Caflin Fonash, in a note posted online Thursday and sent to members. The change still must be approved by NACAC's member delegates at its national conference in September before it takes effect.

My emphasis.

While not surprising, it is still striking to me that the change was approved. It almost feels like this move is the final proverbial nail in the coffin of ethics in college admissions, since the CEPP is no longer mandatory.

I just read that again after I wrote it and now I'm depressed.

😔

The Admissions Dude Mobile Command Center

Today was my first day working remotely as a result of COVID-19, and it wasn't a disaster Granted, there are still a few minutes left in my workday, but I'm feeling confident that I won't crash and burn today. (but there's always tomorrow!)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Based on evolving federal guidance and statewide mitigation plans announced by Gov. Tom Wolf around the growing coronavirus pandemic and the global efforts underway to stop its spread, Penn State has extended the remote-delivery period for all classes through at least the spring semester. Examinations will also be administered remotely. Additionally, spring commencement ceremonies will be postponed while the University explores options for celebrating the achievements of our students. These decisions align with recommendations from the federal government that call for restricting of all gatherings of more than 10 people.

“Graduation is a significant milestone for our students and while it may not be the same as our traditional ceremony, we are committed to finding the best way possible to recognize the achievements of our graduates,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “However, as the world works together to slow the spread of COVID-19, these decisions must be made with public health at the forefront along with the health and wellness of our students, faculty, staff, their families, and our local communities.”

The University will announce soon a schedule for students to return to campus to move out of their on-campus residence halls. It is essential that students know they will not be able to swipe into their on-campus residences until they receive specific information and detailed instructions regarding the schedule. This is critical to the University’s efforts to create as much social distancing as possible and maintain a low level of exposure risk to our students as well as all of our local communities.

“The University will also work with local authorities, landlords, and student leaders, where we can, to develop strategies to minimize the impact of students returning to our communities to retrieve personal belongings,” said Barron. “We encourage all students to be patient as they await further guidance and support.”

Boom. And like that, everything changes in a more long-term way.

While we haven't yet received any direction regarding staff reporting to campus for work - and when that would happen - the statement is more information about how the University will be operating in the near-term. I try to take solace in that. But, for the record, I'm not someone that likes to have a lot of uncertainty in his life. This is amplified even further in my work life.

A college friend of mine works in the service industry. His company has a tasting room in which he spends a bit of his time. Earlier this week, based on everything COVID-related, the company decided to limit the number of people in the tasting room to only two at a time. In my friend's words, "that's good for f**king business".

Indeed.

Needless to say, he's worried about both the immediate and lasting economic effects of the current crisis. More to the point: he's worried about his job. And I am too.

I have come to realize that working in higher education has some serious privileges, not the least of which is the ability to work from my house (and be able to accomplish nearly everything that I am able to do in the office). I wish that everyone had that same ability.

I guess that I should try to focus my attention on the positives right now. My co-workers don't know that I'm wearing pajama pants to meetings. I have a couple of four-legged friends at my ankles while I'm in "the office". I've got this supremely interesting, smart, and attractive woman with whom I'm sharing my workspace (aka, my wife). And - perhaps most of all - I am still employed.

I hope that the events of COVID-19 blow over without major incident, and that you and your family are weathering the proverbial storm in good health.

So, in case you hadn't heard, there has been a lot of activity related to COVID-19 (aka, the Coronavirus) in the past few days. Here at Penn State, like everywhere else, things have gotten hectic with trying to plan for working remotely (at best) or a complete shut-down of the University (at worst).