[Kathy]

[quote author=Kathy link=topic=9773.msg87262#msg87262 date=1396731411]
CornFed ~
Iowa consistently ranks at the top for public school performance on standardized tests. Among the three colleges where I have taught, I found Iowa State students to be the best students by far, and the best prepared for college.

As a Midwesterner, I'm familiar with this phenomenon, and have read about it.  It has to do with a smaller % of people taking the test due to opportunities for jobs in the agriculture sector that do not require a college education.  A google search turned up this mildly interesting article.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0...blogs&_r=0
[/quote]

The standardized tests I refer to are NOT college entrance exams; they are the tests administered to all students that assess student performance/competency in elementary and secondary school. SAT/ACT scores are irrelevant to these rankings.

And if you think agricultural jobs do not require a college education, you are hopelessly out of touch with the way in which the world's food supply is produced. Today's agriculture requires extensive knowledge of technology, biology, physiology, plant science, chemistry, geology, hydrology, mechanics and a slew of other topics. Americans recognized the need for college-level education in agriculture back in the 19th century.  The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 provided for the creation of land-grant colleges for the purpose of teaching  agriculture, engineering and military tactics.

[Kathy]

[quote author=Kathy link=topic=9773.msg87262#msg87262 date=1396731411]
CornFed ~
Iowa consistently ranks at the top for public school performance on standardized tests. Among the three colleges where I have taught, I found Iowa State students to be the best students by far, and the best prepared for college.

As a Midwesterner, I'm familiar with this phenomenon, and have read about it.  It has to do with a smaller % of people taking the test due to opportunities for jobs in the agriculture sector that do not require a college education.  A google search turned up this mildly interesting article.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0...blogs&_r=0
[/quote]

The standardized tests I refer to are NOT college entrance exams; they are the tests administered to all students that assess student performance/competency in elementary and secondary school. SAT/ACT scores are irrelevant to these rankings.

And if you think agricultural jobs do not require a college education, you are hopelessly out of touch with the way in which the world's food supply is produced. Today's agriculture requires extensive knowledge of technology, biology, physiology, plant science, chemistry, geology, hydrology, mechanics and a slew of other topics. Americans recognized the need for college-level education in agriculture back in the 19th century.  The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 provided for the creation of land-grant colleges for the purpose of teaching  agriculture, engineering and military tactics.