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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's January 13th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The SAT and ACT, once the gold standard of standardized testing, have fallen out of favor in recent years, with colleges nationwide dropping test requirements for new applicants. But some schools have reversed course and re-implemented the testing requirements, as a number of studies show their usefulness in predicting success among students.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So for the last decade or so, we saw growing calls primarily from the political left to do away with standardized testing requirements for higher education. And while some universities responded by altering their admissions practices to better account for other criteria, most still required students to submit an SAT or ACT score with their application. But that all changed during the COVID pandemic when lockdowns made it difficult to take the tests, and the vast majority of colleges dropped their testing requirements.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Initially, it looked like that change would only be temporary, but as lockdowns ended, the policies stayed in place. Last fall, for example, 80% of American colleges and universities were no longer requiring students to submit SAT or ACT test scores with their applications.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. And what is the reason for that? Well, the overwhelming argument against standardized tests is, to put it simply, racism. If you look at the data, there are large disparities based on race. Last year, for example, the average Asian student scored a 1219 on their SAT. That is compared to a 1082 for whites, 943 for Hispanics, and a 908 for black students.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to many universities, those disparities are clear evidence of a racist education system that punishes Black and Hispanic students. As the University of California, one of the nation's largest school systems, put it, removing standardized testing requirements helps to, quote, combat systemic inequities, while the National Education Association says standardized testing is, quote, an instrument of racism and a biased system.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Opponents of testing say white and Asian students have an unfair advantage because they have greater access to tutors or are more likely to be in a private or well-funded public school system. They say schools should instead prioritize other metrics like high school GPA, extracurriculars, and family background when schools are deciding who gets in.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But it sounds like we're starting to see some pushback and we're shifting back to those original requirements. Yeah, we are at least partly.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So proponents of standardized tests say that removing requirements punishes those who perform well and also waters down the value of a college degree altogether. They also argue that a high score on an SAT is often the best ticket out of a poor community or failing school system and helps top universities find the diamonds in the rough.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They say removing testing requirements actually ends up preventing those students from getting noticed. And it is worth noting, according to Pew Research, 80% of Black Americans believe that test scores should play a role in college admissions.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So generally speaking, proponents say that while an ACT or SAT is not the only factor that matters, it's the single best tool for comparing students from different backgrounds and circumstances, especially given the unreliability of high school GPAs as a meaningful judge of future success.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, tell us more about that. What do we know about those predictors?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so supporters of standardized testing say that high school GPAs are just not a useful metric anymore due to so-called grade inflation, where high schools are essentially giving out A's more easily than in years past. For context, from 2016 to 2022, the average high schooler's GPA rose from 3.22 to 3.39.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, given that fact, you'd think you'd see a corresponding increase in SAT scores. But over that same timeframe, the average SAT and ACT score for students nationally fell significantly, dropping to a 30-year low.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So basically, a 4.0 is not what it used to be. And there are also a slew of new studies showing the benefits of standardized testing and predicting outcomes for students.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The New York Times, for example, published a roundup of the latest data showing that SAT and ACT scores are far more successful than high school GPA at predicting things like college GPA, graduation rates, and even post-grad hiring rates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And some schools seem to be taking notice of those factors. In the fall of 2023, top colleges like MIT, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, and the University of Florida all reinstated their testing requirements for applicants. And at a number of other top schools like Columbia and Vanderbilt, policies making testing optional are expiring this year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there are some signs that the trend could begin to reverse. So a return to a more merit-based system. Yeah, potentially.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Anytime.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: After the 2023 box office saw a string of high-profile flops, many studios are trying to shift gears this year. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here with a look at what's coming and whether 2024 might be a better year for the entertainment industry.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, we've discussed before that with the exception of Barbie and Oppenheimer, there weren't many big successes at the box office this year. Disney in particular had a really rough year. There was Marvel's, the latest Indiana Jones sequel, Pixar's Elementals, the big holiday animated movie Wish. All of those flopped to some extent.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How is this year shaping up?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, I think the most surprising thing when it comes to Disney is that we're only going to see one Marvel movie this year, Deadpool 3, in late July. So that could be in part because of the writer's strike. But CEO Bob Iger has made it pretty clear that the studio knows its films are not connecting with audiences.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Disney, I think, is really looking for a reset. And I think that the most interesting bellwether to watch is going to be whether Pixar Inside Out sequel scores with audiences.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the first film was a highly original story that families loved. If they don't love it this time out, that could be a serious indicator that the animated studio has really lost trust with its core audience.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But Disney is not alone in looking for a reset. Its big competitor, Warner Brothers DC, is also embarking on a new era.
--:-- Megan Basham: So writer-director James Gunn, who had huge successes at Disney with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, is now taking the helm as CEO. So we won't see major new films coming out of that studio this year, but he will be working on his first major release for 2025, and that's Superman Legacy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, DC does have the Joker sequel coming in October, and that probably will be a big draw. But I think that's a very different sort of superhero film, and I wouldn't necessarily consider that a typical entry in the genre.
--:-- Megan Basham: But really, the buzz has been that the life is fading from superhero films generally. With few exceptions, they aren't providing the return on investment that they once did.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Only two comic book films hit the top 10 in the box office last year, the most recent Guardians of the Galaxy and Across the Spider-Verse, which also is not a typical entry in the genre.
--:-- Megan Basham: So with the exception of 2020, that was so heavily impacted by COVID, that represents the worst showing for these types of films in nearly a decade.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So if superhero films are on the way out, what do you think is going to be the new big genre?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, you know, I think we're probably moving on from superheroes to sci-fi. And the biggest release is probably going to be Dune Part 2.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm very excited for it. And sci-fi tends to be more serious in tone and much more epic in scope. And audiences seem to be craving something a little more somber from their highest budget films.
--:-- Megan Basham: Director Denis Villeneuve's first entry in the Dune franchise was, of course, huge. And I don't think in the entire runtime, which was over two and a half hours, there was a single jokey one-liner.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's a clip from part two that releases on March 1st. Something terrible is coming and I can't stop it. They were massacred. You've been fighting the Argonans for decades. My family's been fighting them for centuries. The prophet. Why is that a bad thing? Use it. Because all my visions lead to horror. Because you lose control. Yes, I can.
--:-- Megan Basham: And I also think you can put Mad Max Furiosa in this sci-fi category as well. That's going to hit theaters in late May. And then of course Alien Romulus in August. So a big year for this pretty dark genre.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, looking back at 2023, Barbie was kind of the big story. So there must be some appetite for lighthearted films as well.
--:-- Megan Basham: Oh yeah, I think that there are. I just think they're coming from a very different corner and we are going to see some other films in that Barbie vein. They're just not going to be superhero Barbies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Mean Girls the Musical will hit theaters next week. That could draw some of that Barbie audience. And those who were really just there for Ken, and I do think that was a lot of people, well, they're going to be able to get that same vibe from Ryan Gosling in the big screen adaptation of the 1980s TV show Fall Guy.
--:-- Megan Basham: And I going to tell you I really am sort of weirdly anticipating that one. Well I feel like an aging millennial that I keep waiting for rom to come back Next year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: New York's governor declared a crackdown on out-of-control retail theft on Tuesday. Governor Kathy Hochul said the chaos must stop and proposed several solutions. Daily Wire investigative reporter Moreta Lordi is here with the details.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Hi, John. So what did the governor say?
--:-- John Bickley: Hi, Moret. So the governor announced this new effort to combat theft at her state of the state speech on Tuesday. New York has struggled lately to get retail theft under control, and Hochul says the chaos has gone on long enough. These attacks are nothing more than a breakdown of the social order. I say no more. The chaos must end.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: So what is Hochul proposing to do about this problem?
--:-- John Bickley: So she has a few proposals. First off, Hochul said the NYPD will have a new smash and grab unit that will focus on targeting organized retail theft rings and tracking smash and grab incidents.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Hochul also said she wants new laws to punish selling stolen goods online and tougher penalties for thieves who assault retail employees.
--:-- John Bickley: The governor also said New York is launching a new joint state, local and federal operation to target retail theft. That operation is modeled after New York's gun trafficking task force.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: New York will also establish a tax credit to help businesses offset costs of store security measures, and the state will also expand its crime analysis centers to better be able to receive crime reports from retailers.
--:-- John Bickley: And additionally, Hochul said she'll provide special funding to district attorneys to prosecute property crime, mostly retail theft.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: All right, so a series of actions there. Now, what exactly do the numbers look like as far as theft in New York?
--:-- John Bickley: Theft has been rising. Hochul pointed out that larceny is up double digits since before the pandemic. In New York City, petty larceny, robbery, assaults, and car thefts are all up significantly compared to two years ago.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Many stores in New York have been forced to put products like Baby Formula behind locks, which can discourage buyers. Hochul highlighted some of these challenges in her remarks.
--:-- John Bickley: Across our nation and our state retail theft has surged, creating fear among the customers and the workers. Thieves brazenly tear items off the shelves and menace employees owners go broke replacing broken windows and stolen goods driving many out of business now this is not just a new york problem right we've seen this in other states as well correct we've seen a trend of rising retail theft across the country especially in cities and particularly in california the los angeles area has struggled for months with organized groups of retail thieves who, in some cases, steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods and trash stores.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Just last week, a group of about 100 looters backed a car into a Compton bakery and looted the store, leaving the owner with at least $70,000 in damages.
--:-- John Bickley: Other types of violent crime have come down since spiking during the pandemic, but in many places, retail theft has only continued to mushroom.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Well, we'll see if Hochul's new crackdown is able to improve the situation in New York, at least.
--:-- John Bickley: All right, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Thanks, John.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire.
