Hossler\'s logic is questionable

Don Hossler needn't worry about being perceived as being disingenuous. \nHe tells us that student SAT scores have been stable for a decade and that our incoming class is only modestly weaker. But by his own office's figures, during the past five years, the incoming class has grown by 1,000 students. The number from the top 20 percent of their high school class has remained the same. The number of those from below the 50th percentile has doubled, to about 550 students. That leaves about 730 students more in the 20-50 range. \nBut, I am confident Hossler would tell us that this does not really mean that a greater percentage of the incoming class is academically weaker than in the past. After all, unlike other institutions, we have studied these seemingly weaker students and found that they are not really weaker. In fact, they are as strong or stronger than students in the higher percentiles. So, since we are more clever than other institutions, we have accepted more of them. Hence, we look weaker but in fact we're outsmarting our peers, who cannot or have not figured this out.\nThanks, Don; never fear being disingenuous.\nMichael L. Morgan\nProfessor of Jewish studies and philosophy