[yboris]

Don't focus on whether it's racist or not - that's not the point. The point is that it is easy for test makers who are not cognizant of culture to slip in questions that to some degree are easier to answer if you have relevant knowledg ef a particular culture.

In my Ph.D. studies in Educational Psychology we were made aware of cultural bias. More than a hundred years ago, when people made tests to assess "intelligence" they may have not been so careful as we try to be now.

Are you sincerely willing to claim that it's impossible to create a test that doesn't make it easier for some subset of the population to outperform another?

[burfog]

It's desirable to create a test with cultural bias. College has a culture. Remember, the test is about the ability to do well in college. Awareness of the cultural expectations will increase the chance of success in college.

If a student couldn't be bothered to learn about the culture, he isn't a good fit.

That said, the questions really are about reading. If you read lots of books, not counting the ones for little kids, you'll have no problem with the questions.

[yboris]

Do you think it's desirable to maintain a college culture that is biased towards the children of people that have yachts?

[burfog]

Those people practically don't exist, so who cares? They are a rounding error, if that.

It is desirable to maintain a college culture that is biased towards people who read about lots of different things, including yachts. Reading is good.

The choice of reading material matters. I don't count "The Cat In The Hat" and "Teen Magazine" the same as "The Grapes of Wrath", "Hamlet", "The Scarlet Letter", and "As I Lay Dying".