Interview with UMich Dean Zearfoss (GRE, Yield Protect, etc)

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• 3 Likes

  FixedDice Member

  March 2018 edited March 2018 1804 karma

  "I served for four years on the test development committee for LSAC, and at that time we were trying to come up with a scored writing component to the LSAT. Basically I became convinced during that time that you can’t score writing in any kind of reasonable way. I just don’t think it predicts anything."

  Bless Dean Zearfoss. Sounds like she was a factor in the LSAT not having a scored writing component. I do not like the idea of having another scored section on the LSAT. I can't speak for y'all, but those multiple-choice sections are more than enough for me.
• Sprinkles Alum Member ⭐

  March 2018 11542 karma

  @FixedDice said:
  "I served for four years on the test development committee for LSAC, and at that time we were trying to come up with a scored writing component to the LSAT. Basically I became convinced during that time that you can’t score writing in any kind of reasonable way. I just don’t think it predicts anything."

  Bless Dean Zearfoss. Sounds like she was a factor in the LSAT not having a scored writing component. I do not like the idea of having another scored section on the LSAT. I can't speak for y'all, but those multiple-choice sections are more than enough for me.

  Um hell to the yes.
• Seeking Perfection Alum Member

  March 2018 4428 karma

  This seems pretty on target about the GRE, what its effect will be, and why certain schools are switching over to it.

  One angle that I hadn't heard mentioned before that the Dean noted was that larger law schools are adopting it first. She noted that larger schools feel more pressure to mantain their LSAT medians since it is more difficult with a larger class.

  She also noted some of the shortcomings of the GRE(it's failure to distinguish among applicants at the top of the scale, the inconsistency of the written portion, and that it is poorly adapted to law school admissions).
• tylerdschreur10 Alum Member

  March 2018 1465 karma

  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly
• tylerdschreur10 Alum Member

  March 2018 1465 karma

  Also dean Z is the single biggest reason UofM is currently my top choice
• westcoastbestcoast Alum Member

  March 2018 3788 karma

  @tylerdschreur10 said:
  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly

  True! Do you think the big part of the difficulty of law school, besides the curve and subject matter, is the fact that the final exams are mostly writing based?
• tylerdschreur10 Alum Member

  March 2018 1465 karma

  @westcoastbestcoast said:

  @tylerdschreur10 said:
  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly

  True! Do you think the big part of the difficulty of law school, besides the curve and subject matter, is the fact that the final exams are mostly writing based?

  Idk if it's a difficulty factor, but it's definitely a reason why LSAT scores and 1L Grades don't correlate especially highly. Writing is largely quantifiable, and its a HUGE contributant to success as a lawyer. Nuff said
• westcoastbestcoast Alum Member

  March 2018 3788 karma

  @tylerdschreur10 said:

  @westcoastbestcoast said:

  @tylerdschreur10 said:
  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly

  True! Do you think the big part of the difficulty of law school, besides the curve and subject matter, is the fact that the final exams are mostly writing based?

  Idk if it's a difficulty factor, but it's definitely a reason why LSAT scores and 1L Grades don't correlate especially highly. Writing is largely quantifiable, and its a HUGE contributant to success as a lawyer. Nuff said

  didn't you just say good writing is like good cooking, in that you can't quantify it
• Seeking Perfection Alum Member

  March 2018 4428 karma

  @westcoastbestcoast said:

  @tylerdschreur10 said:
  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly

  True! Do you think the big part of the difficulty of law school, besides the curve and subject matter, is the fact that the final exams are mostly writing based?

  I don't think so. I think they want clear writing, but other than that have not got the impression that quality of writing determines the grade of a law school exam.

  Rather, they are usually graded on a points system based on whether they address all the right issues and how well they deal with each of them. In a way the exams are graded fairly quantitatively despite being written.

  This is just what I'm gathering from Getting to Maybe and LEEWS and some reading online though so take it with a grain of salt.
• tylerdschreur10 Alum Member

  March 2018 1465 karma

  @westcoastbestcoast said:

  @tylerdschreur10 said:

  @westcoastbestcoast said:

  @tylerdschreur10 said:
  Good writing is like good food, you can't quantify it, but you know it when you see it. Which is why the current system works perfectly

  True! Do you think the big part of the difficulty of law school, besides the curve and subject matter, is the fact that the final exams are mostly writing based?

  Idk if it's a difficulty factor, but it's definitely a reason why LSAT scores and 1L Grades don't correlate especially highly. Writing is largely quantifiable, and its a HUGE contributant to success as a lawyer. Nuff said

  didn't you just say good writing is like good cooking, in that you can't quantify it

  Sorry, I meant unquantifiable. Stupid autocorrect, i appologize for the apparent inconsistency of my platform