Committed to academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability in higher education. Support ACTA: https://nitter.gq/t.co/Sjs2QXamAI
Washington, DC
Joined June 2011
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"A Broadside for the Nation", assembled by ACTA’s National Commission on American History and Civic Education, makes the case for higher ed to restore a required course in US history and government in order to graduate - as well as how to make this vision a reality.
American Council of Trustees and Alumni retweeted
A new Johns Hopkins study confirms what we already knew: the SAT is not the test it used to be.
Four out of five findings “suggest that the newer SAT demands less of the test-taker” and a fifth suggests the opposite.
What’s certain is that the SAT (a) tests less vocabulary, (b) uses much shorter reading passages, and (c) focuses almost exclusively on expository rather than argumentative or persuasive texts.
The full report (linked below) notes that “reducing reliance on assumed background knowledge carries real equity advantages,” which surely explains the changes at least in part.
“The older SAT relied more on students' background knowledge and advanced vocabulary, which could
favor those already familiar with certain topics or perspectives. In contrast, the new SAT includes
context-rich passages that are generally more accessible to students regardless of their prior knowledge, which is likely to reduce the extent to which background familiarity shapes performance.
“In short, the older forms more often asked students to arrive already knowing information, whereas the
newer form more often supplies what a passage requires as it unfolds.”
We were concerned that the SAT has become a less reliable measure of student preparedness for a rigorous college curriculum.
So, we commissioned a study from Johns Hopkins University. What does this study tell us about the state of higher education?
The results are shocking. thaq.co/4iLThZ0
A phenomenal accomplishment, and kudos to Interim President @purduemitch for his sterling leadership.
🏆 Purdue joins the inaugural cohort of Gold Standard universities for its commitment to fostering a campus culture of free expression.
Ranked by the @goacta, we’re one of only four U.S. institutions to gain this recognition. 👇 purdue.university/4knN3zJ
ALT A bell tower with a pointed roof is surrounded by autumn leaves. A banner beside it reads, "ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression."
So much of ACTA's work is frustrated by the fact that college freshmen arrive far behind in practically every area. Fixing the universities also requires fixing K-12.
I am speechless. Thomas Aquinas College just dropped a study on the rigor of the new SAT.
It compares the 1980/87 test with 2026. The findings should terrify every parent and teacher...
Vocabulary has collapsed.
Old SAT: 70.6% of questions tested vocab.
New SAT: 15%.
The old test forced students to know a wide range of words through analogies, antonyms, and sentence completions. The new test abandoned that. Most vocab questions now just ask students to fill in one blank from context.
Reading passages also got radically shorter (average ~97 words vs 300–340).
The new test uses short expository passages and hands you the necessary background knowledge inside the text. The older tests leaned much more heavily on argumentative and persuasive writing, assumed far more historical, scientific, and cultural knowledge, and penalized students who lacked it.
This is a redefinition of what "college readiness" means.
If you believe that kids should develop rigorous vocabulary, be capable of sustained reading, and possess background knowledge, I have bad news for you. The SAT no longer measures these.
If you want a future where children can actually read difficult texts and construct complex arguments, the SAT must be replaced now.
This cannot go on.
FIRE and Trustee Balow are in the right. Listen to Mike Balow explain in his own words why the loyalty oath MSU demanded he signed was, in his view, not even legal:
LAWSUIT: We’re suing Michigan State University for punishing an elected trustee who refused to sign a speech code that restricts criticism of university leadership.
Michael Balow criticized MSU’s handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and its withholding of documents related to a $100 million athletics investment.
The board chair accused Michael and other trustees of “undermining the president” and MSU’s administration. The board then revised its ethics code, seen below, to require trustees to “uphold the university’s reputation” and support majority decisions.
When Michael refused to sign, MSU used the code to exclude him from university events and revoke his credentials, limiting his ability to carry out his duties.
Think about that. Elected officials tasked with overseeing a public university can be punished for questioning its leadership. And the very people they're supposed to hold accountable get to decide what criticism is permissible.
Trustees are supposed to provide independent oversight, not rubber-stamp university decisions. The First Amendment protects their right to dissent, even when the board majority doesn't like what they have to say.
Listen to the full podcast where Trustee Balow tells his side of the story: open.spotify.com/episode/3GG…
Blog Post: 140 years ago today, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated, a gift from her oldest ally: France.
The Statue represents the trans-Atlantic friendship based on shared ideals of liberty, but its history also carries a warning of how liberty can be ruined by factionalism.
Read the full blog post from ACTA's Monica Boryczewski:
goacta.org/2026/10/liberty-t…
American Council of Trustees and Alumni retweeted
The biggest threat to free inquiry is the faculty.
🔎 Where does the pressure on professors to avoid "controversial" topics come from?
In a new survey of HxA members, many gave the same answer: other professors.
In collaboration with @Hartz_PhD and @epkaufm, this new survey identifies which topics feel off-limits on campus and why.
@VU_Chancellor Daniel Diermeier explains the difficulty of building a free speech culture on campus in an age where sharing unpopular political opinions gets you blasted on social media and ostracized by other students.
Watch the replay of the full webinar featuring Chancellor Diermeier, "Learning from Leaders in Reform: Achieving ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™":
youtu.be/3Wu89OBHI4s
The 1619 Project bleakly - and dishonestly- depicts American history as one defined by racism and white supremacy.
By recentering America’s fundamental dedication to liberty, unity, and justice, A Nation Born in a Day sets the record straight.
“In 1776, America’s Founders set forth principles of equality, liberty, and consent of the governed,” the book’s editor, Michael Poliakoff told The College Fix. “Although it would be a long journey to shed the stain of slavery, the Founders set us and the world on that path.”
Read our full interview:
thecollegefix.com/professors…
Learn more about A Nation Born in a Day: goacta.org/2026/09/acta-publ…
📹 "...a disaster from an educational standpoint and it's a disaster for our country."
On Radio Free Campus, ACTA's Steve McGuire explains the double bind created by ideologically-driven US history lessons plus the hollowing of civics education.
Watch RFC on Youtube:
Vanderbilt's Daniel Diermeier explains the root cause of eroding campus speech culture during ACTA's recent webinar:
thecollegefix.com/higher-ed-…
American Council of Trustees and Alumni retweeted
An administrator responsible for a core curriculum at one of America's best public universities who has deep respect for and experience in liberal education. Bizarre.
NEW: @UTAustin @JimDavis_UT announces a new “University College” to be “the guardian of the new core curriculum,” led by inaugural dean Devin Stauffer, faculty fellow at the Civitas Institute and a government professor.
Stauffer chaired the core curriculum task force.
And congratulations to Devin Stauffer, director of one of ACTA's Oases of Excellence, for being named the inaugural Dean of the University College charged with teaching this core curriculum.
Some schools will reform, and save their Humanities programs. Others will coast on inertia and prestige.
But most will, unfortunately, fail to act in time.
VIDEO PODCAST: @sfmcguire79 explains how 1619 Project author Nicole Hannah-Jones put her ideology ahead of what's best for her daughter: doing no help to the former, seriously harming the latter.
Watch the full episode of Radio Free Campus on Youtube: youtu.be/bQ6VKwhkojQ
American Council of Trustees and Alumni retweeted
How bad is administrative bloat in higher ed?
At MIT, the “student body has grown by 8% and its faculty by 9% since the mid-1980s. By comparison, the tally of administrators jumped by 189%.”
New piece in @LawLiberty by ACTA President Michael Poliakoff on how (and how not) to run a civics center.
More and more centers are opening, with increasing enrollment. It's time to look at where they succeed and how they can do better.
