Akil Bello us the Senior Director of Advocacy at The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (Fairtest), which advances quality education and equal opportunity by promoting fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial evaluations of students, teachers and schools. It’s the perfect job for a man who has been calling out myths, socioeconomic bias, and overall shenanigans in college prep for 30 years.
One pervasive myth is the inflated value of a “dream school,” whose popularity results largely from the vicious circle of skillful branding and a culture that buys into it. He urges families to treat the process as unpredictable and driven by colleges’ business interests. And to recognize that choosing a school is a lot like shopping for a new car: don’t believe the MSRP.
Other links:
* Paying to have your teen classified as a “peer-reviewed” author (whatever that is)
* The highest-paid public employees in each state are almost all athletic coaches
* Get to know Kimberlé Crenshaw
* Explore Winona State University!
You can learn more about Akil’s work and writing on his website, his contributions to Fortune magazine, and his Twitter feed.
