College Knowledge

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

It used to be something you did for three hours on a groggy Saturday morning. Now, the SAT and its evil sister, the ACT, are something you think about when you’re 12, take prep classes for, and spend summers committing their flashcards to memory, all in the name of a test that purports to measure what you’ve learned in high school.

There are two problems with this. First, they just measure the Math and English you’ve learned in high school (although the ACT has an optional science test that, truth be told, is much closer to really determining ability to do science). Second, none of this measures your ability to learn in the future—and isn’t that what colleges really want to know? SAT used to do this, or at least claimed to, but testing what you know is easier, so they gave up the nobler pursuit, and now ask about how old Mary was when Jane was as old as Lincoln was when he first practiced law.

Since there seems to be a need for a better way to see if students are really ready for college, here’s my contribution. Give them these questions, and see what they can do. They will be writing their answers on non-Internet connected computers that are AI free.

• Name a nineteenth century female author other than Jane Austen, and compare the relevance of one of their works to The Truth Will Set You Free by Gloria Steinem.

• Write an original sonnet in Shakespearean format about joy.

• Name three non-technological inventions China has contributed to the world and describe their relevance.

• Summarize 100 Years of Solitude in a haiku.

• Explain in 50 words or less why every triangle is half of a rectangle.

• In less than 75 words, what is plastic made of, and why can’t you reduce plastic back to its basic parts once you put them together?

• Explain the concept of 40 Acres and a Mule, why it failed, and three ways it could have affected American society had it been fully implemented.

• Give a 50-word explanation of what calculus is, and what it’s used for.

• Diagram this sentence: Judy and her sister Jennifer walked to the store, which was three blocks away, to get a quart of milk, a bag of flour, and six eggs, to make a cake later today.

• Give a 75-word summary of your state capitol, including why it is where it is.

• Detroit’s convention center used to be named after Albert Cobo. It isn’t anymore. Why not?

• History is replete with circumstances that seemed hopeless. Pick one, summarize its background, and discuss how those circumstances were turned around to create a success (75 words).

• Who is Katherine Johnson, and what three contributions did she make to society?

• Who is Joseph Shabalala, what was his contribution to society, and why is it important?

• In 50 words or less, identify a world problem and solve it.

• Why was John Singer Sargent considered a rebel in his time? Using this same logic, who is a rebel today, and why?

• You have $1.65 in change, no bills, and exactly 15 coins. Name three ways the coins could be distributed.

• How do intermittent windshield wipers work?

• Name five things you can do with a grapefruit besides eat it.

And finally:

• A ball rolled on a friction free floor travels one foot in the first second, half a foot in the next second, a quarter of a foot in the third second, and so on.
• At what point has it travelled a total of two feet?
• At what point does it come to rest?