Quoted, cited, and on camera.
More than thirty years of commentary on testing, admissions, merit, and educational access — in the outlets that cover education and some that rarely do. His coined term "highly rejective colleges" has entered the Congressional Record, inspired TED Talks, and been added to the Urban Dictionary.
"The College Board operates as a nontransparent, unelected, unregulated, publicly funded federal regulator of K-12 curriculum and gatekeeper to higher education."
"I think in the complex ecosystem of admissions, these one-note arguments are reductive, problematic and probably off-kilter. But I think it's on Harvard to be more transparent if they want these narratives to go away."
"Numbers are not data, data is not understanding, and understanding is not knowledge."
"Those arguing for reinstatement of narrow definitions of merit, readiness and ability seem dedicated to stripping higher education of its variety and restricting student choice."
"All rankings are some form of personal opinion filtered through mathematics, so it's a subjective assessment of quality. The only difference in the various rankings is how subjective are they, whose point of view is it reflecting and how transparent are they about their biases."
"The problem of access for Black and Hispanic students is driven by economic, structural and social factors driving inequities that will not be addressed quickly or simply. The programs that are implemented to address these problems are a simple Band-Aid on a gaping wound."
"This is another last-minute program that will help those already decently positioned to pursue higher education, rather than a program that will be a game-changer or field leveler. Since the program is paying only for AP testing, this, by nature, does nothing to provide better preparation for low-income students to be ready for the AP test, have access to AP classes, or understand the benefits of the AP program."
The College Board had taken a somewhat unprecedented step of "convicting students of precrime" in regard to cheating accusations, and their concern over what will happen to students caught cheating seems to outweigh their concerns for fair and equitable testing.
His analysis of elite college admissions became the article's headline — and the framing that stuck in the national conversation about the Varsity Blues scandal. His term "highly rejective colleges" entered the Congressional Record shortly after.