It’s Friday, June 5. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: John Steinbeck, great American. The Justice Department closes in on the human traffickers who exploited the border crisis. Ezra Jin’s family worries China is retaliating against the pastor Donald Trump said he would try to free.
But first: The SAT is back, but do we want it?
Over the last decade, our college entrance exams have been steadily dumbed down.
The longest reading passage on the SAT is only 150 words—and the shortest is 25, just a single sentence—because the College Board claims that the ability to read anything longer is “not an essential prerequisite for college.”
But in 2020, a lot of colleges ditched the test because of Covid, deepening a trend that began not because the SAT was too easy—but because it was supposedly too hard for certain students: the ones who didn’t benefit from tip-top exam prep.
The University of California was one of those places. As of this week, more than 1,400 faculty members have signed an open letter demanding the return of the SAT for STEM majors—after finding that 30 percent of incoming freshmen don’t have middle school–level math skills. In the last 18 months, plenty of other top universities have brought back the SAT, too.
But what’s the point of reinstating a test that’s not tough? And could there be an alternative?
These are the questions at the heart of Maya Sulkin’s latest piece, which focuses on a man who is trying to make college entrance exams rigorous again.
Jeremy Tate, who spent a decade teaching in public schools, is the inventor of the Classic Learning Test (CLT), which expects students to analyze long chunks of the Western canon and doesn’t let them use calculators. It’s been criticized for being too conservative and for being championed by the Trump administration—but Tate says this isn’t about politics.
It’s about making sure students are ready for serious academic work.
—Rick Brooks
Three weeks ago, President Trump returned from his Beijing summit after making a request to Chinese leader Xi Jinping: Release Christian pastor Ezra Jin. On the flight home, the president said he was optimistic about Jin’s case. But since then, things have only gotten worse for the pastor, who has been imprisoned in China for eight months for practicing his faith. As Frannie Block reports today, he has been cut off from his lawyer and now has no connection to the outside world. Frannie has reported on Jin’s story throughout his ordeal. Read her latest on the dark turn it has taken this week.
The common story about GLP-1s is that they’re a miracle drug. And it’s true: They are life-changing treatments for obesity that will save countless lives. But there’s another part of this tale: the people for whom GLP-1s can be a disaster. Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik is one of them. She tells the story of how one shot of the drug was enough to wreck her body entirely.
In recent years, “The Free Press” has reported on how the Biden administration left migrant children at risk—and what is now being done to help unaccompanied minors preyed on by traffickers. Today, Audrey Fahlberg has a new scoop: The Justice Department is preparing criminal charges against an illegal alien from Guatemala for allegedly using fake identities to gain custody of unaccompanied migrant children. Read her report on the crisis in child trafficking and the Justice Department’s new plan to crack down on the most vicious offenders.
In the latest installment of our Great Americans series, Major Garrett writes about John Steinbeck. From Of Mice and Men to East of Eden and beyond, his novels echo in our memory “like a favorite family hymn, a true American hymn,” writes Major.
EDITORS’ PICKS
From presidential assassination attempts to lethal assaults on places of worship to an arson attack on a governor’s mansion, it’s clear we are living through an age of political violence. But how does a seemingly normal teenager get so radicalized that he plots a terrorist attack? That’s the question Maya Sulkin spent months investigating for her new piece. It’s about a 14-year-old boy who was isolated, perpetually online, and autistic. He was targeted by jihadist extremists on a chat-room app. Her piece tells the story of a profound danger facing some of the most vulnerable Americans and the dilemmas parents face after they discover their child has been radicalized.
Last year, Frannie Block and Jay Solomon investigated the scale of Qatari efforts to influence American public life. They found nearly $100 billion of Qatari investments across key sectors, from education to defense—and exposed how Qatar sought to curry favor with the American public and politicians in both parties. Now, a fresh report suggests the spending is even bigger than anyone thought. Read Frannie’s story on the more than $400 billion in Qatari spending in the U.S. since 2010 and how it has changed the country.
Is artificial intelligence a blessing or a curse? It may be the defining question of the 21st century. The technology promises extraordinary benefits, from medical breakthroughs to unprecedented economic growth. But it also poses profound risks to how we live—and perhaps even to the future of humanity. As Niall Ferguson wrote this week, AI is turning out to be perhaps the most dangerous arms race in human history. And we have arrived at what may be its most dangerous point. To make matters worse, “the leadership of the competitors in this race is, to say the least, of mixed quality.” Read Niall to make sense of this important, precarious moment:
And for more on the AI arms race, don’t miss the latest episode of School of War. Aaron MacLean sits down with former intelligence officer Anthony Vinci, who explains how AI has upended our assumptions about espionage and intelligence and unpacks the future of spy craft in the 21st century.
How will the next generation prepare for this brave new AI-infused world? The answer, for some parents, is by spending their Saturdays vibe coding with their kids. Evan Gardner spoke to the people who think it’s a parenting prerogative to raise well-trained AI natives. Read his feature on the parents who have seen the future and want their kids to master it.
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s week keeps getting worse. The latest allegations against the scandal-ridden Democrat come courtesy of The New York Times, who spoke to several of his ex-girlfriends, some of whom found his behavior “intimidating and disturbing.” The story has triggered a familiar-sounding conversation about who to believe and how to judge contested claims about a public figure’s personal life. But Platner himself is not exactly shy about making accusations of his own—including against people no longer here to defend themselves. In a recently unearthed podcast interview, Platner accused Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL sniper made famous by the movie American Sniper, of targeting civilians in Iraq. It’s a serious claim, and one for which there is not a shred of evidence, says Leif Babin, Chris Kyle’s former platoon commander. Read his defense of his late friend:
Finally, if you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, Spencer Klavan wrote about the low-budget psychological thriller outdoing a Star Wars spin-off at the box office. Backrooms and its 20-year-old director are changing the scope of what the aging movie industry allows. Read his piece about why Hollywood may yet have hope, thanks to a generation of YouTubers.
Why didn’t I get this issue in my in box?