Latest news with #ACTs
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's claims about remedial math at Harvard don't add up
As the White House moves to revoke Harvard University's certification to enroll foreign students — escalating a battle between the administration and the oldest and wealthiest college in the U.S. — President Trump is falsely claiming that Harvard offers 'remedial mathematics' on topics such as simple addition. He most recently took aim at the school's math offerings during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on Wednesday for Interim U.S. Atty. for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host who was formerly a county prosecutor and elected judge, in response to a question from a reporter about how the 'confrontation' with Harvard will end. Here's a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: 'Harvard announced two weeks ago that they're going to teach remedial mathematics, remedial, meaning they're going to teach low grade mathematics like two plus two is four. How did these people get into Harvard? If they can't, if they can't do basic mathematics, how did they do it?' THE FACTS: Harvard does not offer a remedial math class covering basic arithmetic. Asked whether Trump was referring to a specific class, a White House spokesperson provided information about Mathematics MA5, which was introduced in the fall of 2024 as a new format for an existing course that offers extra support in calculus. The original course — Mathematics MA — is still offered. 'Harvard College does not offer any so-called remedial math classes,' said James Chisholm, a spokesperson for the university's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which encompasses its undergraduate program. He added: 'Math MA5 is a college-level calculus class. It is simply a new format of Math MA, the introductory freshman calculus course that has been taught at Harvard for decades.' Students in Mathematics MA and MA5 have the exact same homework, exams and grading structure, according to Chisholm. The only difference is that the former meets three days a week and the latter five days a week. They are both prerequisites for higher-level math courses. One question on a sample exam Chisholm provided asks students to write a formula for determining the total number of cases during a hypothetical epidemic after a certain amount of days. The Harvard Crimson reported in September that Director of Introductory Math Brendan Kelly said Mathematics MA5 is 'aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills among students' created by the COVID-19 pandemic. A course description notes that its 'extra support will target foundational skills in algebra, geometry, and quantitative reasoning.' The median math score for the most recently enrolled undergraduate class at Harvard College was 790 out of 800 on the SATs and 35 out of 36 on the ACTs. The average high school GPA was 4.2. 'There is no university in America that is as difficult to earn admission to as Harvard — no matter your demographics,' said Brian Taylor, managing partner at the college counseling service Ivy Coach. 'President Trump's math in this case simply doesn't add up.' Goldin writes for the Associated Press.
New York Times
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Kimi Antonelli is making Formula One history as rookie – all while finishing school
SAKHIR, Bahrain — In the 75-year history of Formula One, only three drivers have scored a top-six finish in each of their first three races. Jackie Stewart was the first to achieve the feat when he debuted in 1965, before becoming a three-time world champion. Lewis Hamilton then matched that feat in 2007 — he's now the statistical all-time great with over 100 race wins and seven world titles. Advertisement That exclusive club has now been joined by Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 18, who has made a successful start to life in F1 with Mercedes this year. He finished fourth in the Australia season opener and sixth in both China and Japan — the following two races. He made F1 history in Japan by becoming the youngest driver ever to lead a race and to set a fastest lap, taking both records from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. All of this has quickly justified his team's decision to put its faith in him as Hamilton's replacement. Antonelli's impressive adjustment to life in the F1 spotlight is taking place at the same time he goes through another major life experience: finishing his school exams. It's not a pressure that any other driver on the F1 grid has to handle, given Antonelli's status as the youngest driver on the grid and the youngest to race in F1 since Verstappen debuted at 17 in 2015. But Antonelli's commitment to finishing his studies also sets him apart from many of his peers who dropped out of school entirely to focus on racing. The exams Antonelli is currently working towards are Italy's 'maturità' diploma, which is the main qualification at the end of secondary qualification or high school, equivalent to A Levels in the UK and similar to SATs or ACTs in the United States. He has completed his studies online through ITCS Gaetano Salvemini school, which has accommodated his sporting career. Antonelli recently opened up about his studies in an interview with 'The Fast and the Curious' podcast ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, recognizing the importance of completing his final exams. 'I've been doing so many years of school, it would be a shame just to quit in the last year,' Antonelli said. 'Also, my Mum really cares about it. So I will do it for her as well.' Antonelli said his favorite subjects were English and PE, but he dislikes math. Advertisement 'You see numbers, and then you get to see just letters in math, and I'm like, 'Oh my God, why am I doing this?'' Antonelli said. 'It's something I have to do, but it's a really difficult subject.' Although Antonelli's main focus has been on F1, with the completion of his exams being more of a formality this year, Mercedes has adjusted its travel logistics to account for exam sittings that have to happen in person. This includes working out the scheduling around the European triple-header in late May, when Antonelli will fly back and forth between the race locations, the team's factory in the UK and his home in Bologna to get the exams done. Reflecting on his first three F1 races during a news conference on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, Antonelli said he thought they had 'gone pretty well.' 'The thing I was the happiest about is the consistency throughout the three races and (to) keep trying to improve weekend by weekend,' he said. Antonelli's impressive start to life in F1 hasn't come as any shock to those close to him. Mercedes has been invested in his career since he was in go-karting and always hoped for him to join George Russell (another Mercedes junior driver) in its race team one day, so great was the potential it saw in him. Despite being just 17 when Hamilton announced last February he would be leaving to join Ferrari for 2025, Mercedes did not waver from its plan to put Antonelli in the car. Mercedes' preparations for Antonelli, including close to 10,000km of private testing, undoubtedly helped his current situation. He also spent a lot of last year getting to know his future engineers, ensuring that when it came to the first race weekends of 2025, everything would feel as seamless as possible and less of a shock compared to the more basic race team setups in Formula Two. Advertisement But Mercedes wouldn't know for certain just how Antonelli would fare until he was put in a real F1 race weekend situation. The fashion in which he has responded to setbacks has deeply impressed the team. In Australia, he was knocked out in Q1 but still managed to finish fourth after nailing the timing to switch tires in tricky conditions of the wet race. While every other rookie slipped up significantly, Antonelli held his nerve to grab a great debut result. Even more encouraging was his recovery in Japan where, after initially feeling 'lost' with the car around the high-speed Suzuka track in the opening practice sessions, Antonelli found his groove to qualify and finish sixth, securing his first lap-lead in F1 thanks to a stint that also set him up to record the fastest lap in the second half of the race. 'He's done an amazing job, and it's not really been a surprise to me,' Russell said of Antonelli's start. 'It's been great to see some really strong races so far. For us to have two cars that have been up there every single race is good for the championship. Helping one another to get more out of each other has been great as well. It's really good to see.' Russell outqualified Antonelli by an average of 0.390 seconds for the first three races — a big gap for drivers using the same cars — but Mercedes knew there would be an initial gap, especially with Russell arguably in the form of his F1 career so far. But both drivers have contributed to Mercedes' best — and, importantly, most consistent — start to a season since 2021, with the team seemingly finally on top of its struggles with this generation of cars. Unlike previous vaunted F1 rookies who have been touted as future superstars, only to struggle to match the hype or continue their impressive junior records, Antonelli has ticked every box so far in 2025. There will be struggles, of course. But Mercedes is encouraged that when those tougher moments do arrive, Antonelli has already displayed the maturity and head-strength to handle anything thrown his way. And if Antonelli can get through his upcoming finals, particularly that math exam, he'll surely believe it too. (Top image: Kym Illman / Getty Images)
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
ACT outage disrupts testing in Tennessee
A widespread outage disrupted testing for 29 out of the 34 districts administering ACTs on Tuesday. The Tennessee Department of Education said it learned of a national service disruption affecting the platform used by the ACT, which stands for American College Testing. The standardized test is largely accepted by colleges and universities as part of the application process. "Throughout the day, TDOE has been communicating with the impacted districts," a spokesperson form the department told The Tennessean via email on Tuesday afternoon. "They have the authority to decide when/if to postpone their ACT testing day." The issue was identified and resolved as of Tuesday afternoon. Students who already began their test before the disruption will be able to pick up where they left off when they return. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ACT outage disrupts testing in Tennessee
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Jesse Solomon Could Have Learned From West Wilson and Carl Radke's Past Mistakes
is starting to wear on me. For a jovial dude, he is really bringing a bad vibe to Summer House this year. He has jumped headfirst into a flirtationship. And is already joking with the guys that he is no longer single. For some reason, I expected more from Jesse, but instead, it looks like he is following in Carl Radke's and West Wilson's footsteps. Instead of learning from their very public mistakes, I fear Jesse is going to replicate their actions. Instead of singing, 'What would Jesse Solomon do?' the second-year roomie should have been asking what did Carl and West do? Jesse has found himself in a relationship, kind of. The new girl, Lexi Wood, has caught his eye and he is proper love struck. Jesse isn't playing around. The man left her a drunk dial from inside the home. And he Facetimed her while with the boys to report his whereabouts. I'd say he was the most desperate guy on Bravo, but Shep Rose already has that title. The flirting has been at an all-time high, and I find myself cringing every time Jesse talks about his crush. Jesse also has a weird way of showing that he likes Lexi. First, he makes an obscene joke about her last name, 'Lexi give me Wood,' which I don't even know why the model pretended that joke was funny. Then, at their first family dinner, he questions her education. He asked her if she felt she was a ditz and if she took the SATs or ACTs. Firstly, Jesse, Lexi is from Canada. Students from Canada don't take the American College Testing (ACT) so I ask, who is the ditz now? I just wish Jesse had thought before he let his words fly right out of his mouth. If insulting someone's intelligence is a flirting tactic, then color me surprised and out of date. I can't exactly say I appreciate that he has already categorized as 'super hot' before she even opened her mouth upon walking through the front door. Now, I am not saying I'm a Lexi fan. I'm not, to be honest. But she deserves a bit more respect than being graded like a piece of meat. I can't help but think that Jesse just sees her as a summer fling and not girlfriend material. Jesse is giving gross this season, and it makes me sad as he was such a fan favorite. Jesse is coming off as annoying, and we are only two episodes into Season 9. Last summer, he was humble, and fans empathized with his health struggles. But this year, he is rude, making judgey faces and sharing comments that are just ridiculous. During his confessional Jesse point blank said he was pushing Lexi to see where the line was for her. We've seen this type of behavior before, specifically from West and Carl. You would have thought that Jesse would have taken a page from Carl or West's book about how to not treat women in the house. Yet, here we are, watching Jesse go down the same path his two friends followed. In their final conversation, some feel Carl gaslit the hell out of Lindsay Hubbard. He asked for 'softness' not realizing how offensive that comment is to women. And while he struggled to communicate with Lindsay he had no issue talking to everyone else. The same could be said for West. He led Ciara Miller on, and when things got hard, he ran. He, too, spoke with the press about how he didn't like Ciara, but his actions told a different story. If Jesse isn't careful, he is going to find himself in the same position as his two bros. Both men apologized to Ciara and Lindsay after they received backlash from fans. I doubt either one really understands why the women were so upset. Jesse needs to shape up or ship out when it comes to his treatment of Lexi. And just so we are playing fair here, Lexi should also not be entertaining his ridiculous courting methods. Summer House is available to stream on Peacock. TELL US – DO YOU THINK JESSE SHOULD HAVE LEARNED HIS LESSON? The post How Jesse Solomon Could Have Learned From West Wilson and Carl Radke's Past Mistakes appeared first on Reality Tea.
