What follows is a true story. In the spring of her senior year in high school, a young woman went to an assessment/registration session at the college she planned to attend that fall. As part of its assessment process, the college had the woman-as well as all other incoming students-write a very brief (about two paragraphs long) essay about her experiences in high school. Two faculty members who taught writing classes at the college judged the essay. They evaluated the grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity of the essay. They judged the woman's essay to be of poor quality, and they recommended this woman be placed in a remedial English course that focused on the development of basic writing skills. The incoming students who passed this writing test, on the other hand, were placed in a somewhat more advanced writing course-a course that all students were required to take before graduating. After receiving the recommendation from the writing assessment team, the faculty member who was advising the woman noticed that she had performed very well in the three English classes she took in high school and on her SAT verbal test. The discrepancy between this information and the writing team's judgment seemed odd to the advisor. He told the woman about the team's recommendation and asked her how she felt about her writing skills. She informed him that she did quite well in high school and received As on the papers she had written. The advisor discussed this information with members of the writing assessment team as well as the college's academic dean. Although the advisor felt strongly that the woman should not have to take the remedial English course, the writing assessment team and the Dean required her to register for the course. Why do you think the advisor felt this way? If the decision was yours, what would you do and why?

Personally I would require the student to take the remedial English course recommended by the writing team. My reasoning for this is based off her performance in the essay submitted. Yet I am unsure whether or not that would be considered making a decision based off single case evidence which isnt reliable.

What is your take?