WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
SAT, said the episode showed
anew the tensions underlying
admissions tests.
“The College Board is discover-
ing who they are and where they
are,” Carnevale said in an email.
“They are the personnel director
for America’s race and class elites
and their elite colleges. When
they step out of that role, they
make people and institutions
very nervous.”
[email protected]scape to decide who gets in and
who doesn’t,” the College Board
said. “It simply helps admissions
officers give more students from
more places a fair look.”
Nearly 2 million U.S. students
in the high school Class of 2018
took the SAT, slightly more than
the roughly 1.9 million who took
the rival ACT. The ACT has no
plans to use any kind of adversity
rating.
One college admissions con-
sultant who had criticized the
College Board’s previous adversi-
ty rating proposal applauded the
change.
“This is a significant improve-
ment that eases concerns about
the transparency of the process,”
said Venkates Swaminathan, who
is based in San Francisco. At first
glance, he said, it appeared that
the information “will provide an-
other useful data point for colleg-
es to understand a student’s per-
formance in context.”
Eddie Comeaux, an associate
professor of higher education at
the University of California at
Riverside, said the College Board
had taken “a good first step” by
simplifying its metrics and mak-
ing them more transparent.
Comeaux chairs a board of the UC
Academic Senate that oversees
admissions issues within the UC
system. He said Landscape is
“just a small mechanism” in an
admissions process that histori-
cally has favored the privileged.
“You’re trying to find a way to
make this more equitable, right?”
he said. “Even with this new tool,
you still have people that have to
interpret that and execute the
plan.”
Anthony P. Carnevale, a re-
search professor at Georgetown
University and former senior offi-
cial for the Educational Testing
Service, which administers theIn its place will be two socio-
economic ratings — one for the
high school and the other for the
neighborhood where the student
lives. These numbers also will be
on a scale of 1 to 100. Criteria in
the ratings will include college
attendance patterns, median
household income, housing and
crime data, educational attain-
ment and the number of single-
parent families. The data are
drawn from the U.S. Census Bu-
reau, College Board and other
sources.
Lower ratings are meant to
signify relative privilege within a
school or neighborhood, and
higher ratings signal that a stu-
dent faces relative challenges. No
personal data or test scores are
included in the formula.
The College Board said it plans
to make the neighborhood and
high school information visible
to students and families next
year. Previously, it had consid-
ered that step but had not com-
mitted to it.
Unlike the previous proposal,
the College Board will not distill
the ratings to a single number.
But nothing would prevent a
college from doing that arithme-
tic.
“Sure, you can combine any
information in an application
however you see fit,” Coleman
acknowledged.
The Landscape tool will also
show average Advanced Place-
ment test participation and re-
sults at the high school and how
the individual student’s SAT
score compares with other scores
from the high school. The tool
will be auditioned in as many as
150 colleges this year and then
made widely available in 2020,
the College Board said, at no
charge to colleges.
“Colleges do not use Land-BY NICK ANDERSON
The College Board is dropping
a plan to send colleges a single
numeric rating of the adversity
students faced in their communi-
ties as they took the SAT, opting
instead to provide separate mea-
sures to describe their high
schools and neighborhoods.
Last spring, the revealing of
plans to develop an “overall dis-
advantage level” for each SAT
taker, on a scale of 1 to 100,
prompted an uproar. Many
dubbed it an “adversity score.”
Critics said it would be vulner-
able to manipulation and could
unfairly taint how an actual SAT
score is perceived. The test itself
gauges math and evidence-based
reading and writing, with a wide-
ly recognized maximum score of
- That scoring scale remains
the same.
The College Board, a nonprofit
organization that owns the test,
said the new figures were meant
only to provide more demograph-
ic context for admissions officers
to understand where students
are coming from.
On Tuesday, the testing organi-
zation rolled out an admissions
tool called Landscape that ap-
peared intended to assuage crit-
ics.
Gone was the lightning-rod
“overall disadvantage” number.
“It caused a lot of unnecessary
confusion and also wasn’t pro-
ductive,” David Coleman, the Col-
lege Board chief executive, said in
a telephone interview.
lis and Raleigh, N.C., and plans to
expand its fleet of planes to
around 175 by the end of 2021.
“When you allow people to pick
and choose those things that they
like, that’s how they deliver an
even lower fare for themselves,”
Christie said.
[email protected]600 daily flights to 76 destina-
tions.
Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines
chief executive Ted Christie said
the airline’s low fares draw travel-
ers who might otherwise drive or
who don’t travel much. The airline
rolled out new destinations this
year, including Austin, Indianapo-customers book online.
Other airlines have experi-
mented with more-direct ways to
reach travelers, often with a focus
on customer service. This sum-
mer, Delta Air Lines said it was
testing a new feature that lets trav-
elers send the airline a message
from an Apple device if they have
questions or other issues. A
spokeswoman for United Airlines
told CNBC that it was considering
a chat platform for customers who
need support.
Other carriers lean more heavi-
ly toward Twitter, often respond-
ing to frustrated fliers stranded by
cancellations or delays. American
Airlines, for example, has staffers
in its operation center in Fort
Worth to help travelers tweeting
about flight issues, according to
CNBC.
In Spirit’s case, customers will
first interact with a chatbot to
pinpoint basic information about
a request and then will be passed
on to a Spirit agent. Guests can
finalize their flights by following a
link that takes them outside
WhatsApp.
Zach Honig, editor-at-large of
the Points Guy travel blog, said he
believed this marked the first time
a U.S. airline would assist passen-
gers through WhatsApp specifi-
cally. Some international carriers,
such as Etihad in the United Arab
Emirates, offer similar support.
Unlike other forms of social me-
dia and texting, WhatsApp is
widely used in the Caribbean and
Latin America, where the bulk of
Spirit’s international flights go.
The airline operates more thanBY RACHEL SIEGEL
“Just text me.”
That’s the pitch Spirit Airlines is
making to customers looking to
book flights on the go. Starting
Sept. 1, customers can message the
discount carrier over WhatsApp to
start making reservations, ask
questions or modify their travel.
The service will be available in
English and Spanish.
“We launched this service to
better connect with our guests,
both domestically and abroad, as
many have told us that they would
rather communicate on a familiar
and convenient service like
WhatsApp,” said Bobby Schroeter,
Spirit’s vice president of sales and
marketing.
Spirit, which recently made
headlines after a bat flew around a
plane’s cabin during a flight, has
found itself among the lowest-rat-
ed airlines in America. Though the
carrier touts its seriously low base
fares, the add-on costs can pile up
quickly. Want to check luggage?
Carry on a bag? Pick your seat? Get
a bottle of water? It’ll cost you.
Spirit Airlines spokeswoman
Haven Kaplan said there’s a $
charge for a new booking or modi-
fication through WhatsApp, the
same cost as booking over the
phone. Booking fees are waived if
around. If service is still bad,
then politely inform the
manager. If issues aren’t
resolved, you have the right to
tip accordingly.
Do not tip-shame people.
The wait staff should get a living
wage so their pay isn’t
determined by the generosity —
or lack thereof — of customers.
But demeaning a diner for not
tipping well doesn’t put you on
a higher moral ground. It’s ill-
mannered.
Whether it’s dividing the bill
or tipping your server, make
sure that kindness is on the
menu.Readers may write to Michelle
Singletary at The Washington Post,
1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C.
20071 or
[email protected].
To read previous Color of Money
columns, go to wapo.st/michelle-
singletary.Facebook or Twitter. But the
disclosure has the effect of
minimizing the rest of the
tipping public who give within
established guidelines.
After all, truth be told,
tipping is supposed to be
voluntary, and therefore the
now-customary 18 percent or
20 percent gratuity is generous,
too. So here are some guidelines
for tipping.
It’s not fair that diners are
put in the position of
supplementing people’s pay
regardless of the quality of
service. But tipping is part of
the price of dining at a
restaurant. (You might be
interested to know O’Scanlon
voted against legislation that
would raise the minimum wage
in New Jersey to $15 an hour by
2024.)
If you’re not getting good
service, respectfully let your
server know. Give the person an
opportunity to turn thingsAfter calling the customer a
“jerk,” he went on to write,
“Ashley is a great waitress and
wonderful human being.”
I’ve chosen to withhold the
name of the customer, who
claims he received poor service,
so as not to repeat the offense of
outing him for what he felt was
a justified tip — right or wrong.
Ashley, the waitress, may
have been understandably upset
about the tip amount, but she
should not have shared private
customer information with
anyone outside of the restaurant
establishment. She crossed a
line that should grant privacy to
patrons.
By the way, I feel the same
way when there are stories
about extraordinary tippers.
Such largesse shouldn’t be made
public. I realize the recipient is
often so moved by the big-
heartedness of a diner that he or
she wants to announce it to the
world — these days viawhat’s owed is settled.
There are plenty of payment
apps — such as Venmo and
Apple Pay Cash — that can help
diners divide the check.
Now, let’s address people who
take it upon themselves to
berate restaurant customers
who choose to leave a small tip
or no tip. Set aside your opinion
about tipping. Consider what’s
happening in this situation.
It’s none of your business
how someone spends his or her
money. Such was the case
recently when a New Jersey
lawmaker went on T
witter to humiliate a
customer who left a 74-cent tip
on a $119.26 tab.
Sen. Declan O’Scanlon Jr. (R-
N.J.) was shown a copy of a
customer’s receipt with the tiny
tip. O’Scanlon took it upon
himself to post it in a tweet that
showed the diner’s full name
and the last four digits of his
debit card number.person cheap for asking for a
separate check, it’s most
definitely intended to demean.
Splitting a check is not some
character flaw. It’s usually the
result of repeatedly having to
subsidize people who order
round after round of drinks and
pricey menu items, only to be
the first to suggest the check be
split evenly among all the
diners.
Here’s how to divide a check
so friendships aren’t frayed.
Ask for separate checks
before ordering. Make no
apologies. Ignore rude
comments.
If the restaurant limits splits
or won’t allow separate checks,
decide as a group how to take
care of the bill at the start of the
meal. Drinkers will pay for their
own booze, for example.
Remind table mates that their
split should include taxes and
tip. If there’s one check, no one
leaves until the calculation ofPerhaps it’s time
for a refresher on
the financial
etiquette of
eating out.
Yes, splitting a
check is okay.
No, you should
not shame
someone for how
much he or she
leaves as a tip.
Let’s start with asking for
separate checks.
If I’m eating out with a large
group, I always ask the server at
the beginning of the meal to
provide me with a separate
check. Typically, others chime in
that they, too, want one. But
every once in a while, there is
that one person who feels the
need to say that splitting the
check is a sign of being cheap.
I generally don’t bristle at
being called cheap because I am
a proud penny pincher. But
when someone calls another
Separate checks and tipping decisions can set off distasteful round of judgment
Michelle
Singletary
THE COLOR
OF MONEY
BY DAVID J. LYNCH
The Federal Reserve should
stop trying to offset the economic
costs of President Trump’s trade
war and let him bear the conse-
quences of the most aggressive
use of tariffs since the 1930s, ac-
cording to the former head of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New
York.
“Officials could state explicitly
that the central bank won’t bail
out an administration that keeps
making bad choices on trade pol-
icy, making it abundantly clear
that Trump will own the conse-
quences,” William Dudley, who
stepped down last year after nine
years as the president of the New
York Fed, wrote in an opinion
column for Bloomberg News.
In an extraordinary broadside,
the veteran policymaker said the
Fed also should consider how its
actions will affect the 2020 presi-
dential election, since “Trump’s
reelection arguably presents a
threat to the U.S. and global econ-
omy, to the Fed’s independence
and its ability to achieve its em-
ployment and inflation objec-
tives.”
Dudley, now a research scholar
at Princeton University, quickly
drew fire on social media from
across the political spectrum. On
Twitter, Dan DiMicco, former
chief executive of Nucor and a
leading backer of Trump’s protec-
tionist stance, likened Dudley’s
call to “rooting for the Germans in
WW2 [and] wanting the USA to
lose.”
Jared Bernstein, a former eco-
nomic adviser to Vice President
Joe Biden, tweeted that Dudley’s
recommended course “could easi-
ly backfire as Trump often doubles
down when challenged like this.
Far too risky a play, in my view.”
His views also ignited a fierce
debate Tuesday over how the Fed
should navigate the treacherous
economic and political waters it
faces.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome
H. Powell last month cut the
benchmark U.S. interest rate by a
quarter percentage point to miti-
gate a global growth slowdown he
blamed, in part, on the president’s
unconventional trade policies.
Powell stressed that the Fed
took no position on Trump’s impo-
sition of tariffs on imports from
China and several other nations.
But uncertainty resulting from
the president’s on-again, off-againthreats of additional trade barri-
ers was depressing business in-
vestment and sapping manufac-
turing activity around the world,
he said.
Dudley suggested that the cen-
tral bank’s actions were encourag-
ing the president “to escalate the
trade war further, increasing the
risk of a recession.”
The bank, he wrote, should not
“play along” with Trump’s trade
policy overhaul.
The president’s planned tariff
hikes by Dec. 15 will lift the aver-
age U.S. tariff on Chinese goods to
more than 24 percent, compared
with 3 percent when he took of-
fice, according to Chad Bown, an
economist with the Peterson In-
stitute for International Eco-
nomics.
The cost of those tariffs “has
fallen largely on the U.S.” in the
form of smaller profits for import-
ing companies and higher prices
for consumers, according to a new
paper by economists from Har-
vard University, the International
Monetary Fund, the University of
Chicago and the Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston.
If Powell ruled out further rate
cuts to address trade war fallout,
he would discourage the presi-
dent from additional risky escala-
tion, demonstrate the Fed’s inde-
pendence and preserve the bank’s
ability to cut rates if the economy
tips into recession, Dudley said.
In response to questions, the
central bank rejected Dudley’s
call to steer the economy with one
eye on the political calendar.
“The Federal Reserve’s policy
decisions are guided solely by its
congressional mandate to main-
tain price stability and maximum
employment. Political consider-
ations play absolutely no role,”
said Michelle Smith, a Fed spokes-
woman.
Though he appointed Powell,
Trump has grown relentlessly
critical of the Fed chairman for
keeping interest rates higher than
those of key U.S. trading partners.
Shortly after Dudley’s column
appeared, Trump tweeted his lat-
est attack. “The Federal Reserve
loves watching our manufactur-
ers struggle with their exports to
the benefit of other parts of the
world. Has anyone looked at what
almost all other countries are do-
ing to take advantage of the good
old USA? Our Fed has been calling
it wrong for too long!”
[email protected]Ex-Fed official urges central
bank not to ‘bail out’ Trump
College Board revamps plan for adversity ratings on SAT
Spirit Airlines will let
customers book flights
via WhatsApp, for a fee
KEITH SRAKOCIC/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Discount carrier Spirit Airlines says it will charge a $25 fee for
making reservations or changing flights using WhatsApp.Travelers will also be
able to ask questions,
change itinerariesSingle number will be
replaced with indicators
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