The public rarely receives any College Board initiative warmly, but the general response to announcement of the Environmental Context Dashboard exceeded most previous levels of cynicism, so much so that they're already going back to the drawing board for a new plan. What makes the idea of an "adversity score" so contentious, and what does that nickname get wrong? Amy and Mike invited test prep professional Travis Minor to provide much-needed context to the implications of an Environmental Context Dashboard.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What is environmental context data meant to quantify?
2. How is the term "adversity score" a misnomer?
3. What motivates criticism of an environmental context score?
4. What is the Strivers' Initiative and how does it relate to environmental context?
5. Should an environmental context score be known to a student?

MEET OUR GUEST

Travis Minor, owner of Open Door Education in Acton and Concord, MA, has helped thousands of students succeed on standardized tests of all shapes and sizes. Travis earned his BS in Secondary Education at the University of Vermont and his M.Ed. at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, where he continues to work as the Education Entrepreneurship Teaching Fellow. Travis has served as a City Heroes Team Leader, a trustee of The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle, and as a volunteer firefighter.

Find Travis at [email protected]

LINKS

Landscape announced as the new Environmental Context Dashboard

What is Landscape?

Landscape Comprehensive Data and Methodology Overview

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.