Wednesday - February 2, 2005:

I tried the GLAT, Google's device for delivering the right kind of genius. it's an interesting little test. I'm a hack at many of the things they're looking for, meaning I know enough about each question to understand why I haven't a chance in hell of getting through their front door. It would be interesting, though, to compare the kinds of questions they're asking to some of the standardized tests we're using to'measure' student achievement today. I'm not talking content but process. The questions ask for a kind of creativity and critical thinking that I'd like to see our schools going after more often. Instead, the underfunded demands of No Child Left Behind leave states creating the test of least resistance in order to meet the letter of the law and pass the highest percentage of kids possible so their state doesn't look so bad. they're also interested, because of economics, in creating a test that can be cheaply graded. In many cases that means a computer processes large chunks. it's interesting to me that Google, a company that owes everything to computers uses an intensive, face-to-face process to screen (read-grade) potential employees. I think our educational system could learn something from the GLAT.

Tomorrow, HB will take a shot at the GLAT with predictable results.
 
-Bob Stevenson