Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / Oct. 22, 1976, edition 1 / Page 1
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r Neurosurgeons Gather For Biennial OWL Convocation DISJINCUISHtD BIRDS—OWL was named tor Dr. Guy Odom, right, and Dr. Barnes Woodhall, the two men who have led the Division of Neurosurgery since its inception. (^Photo fay iew/s Thirty-six distinguished birds of the sante surgical feather are flockir\g together here this weeker\d for scientific sessions at the third biennial OWL meeting. OWL is the acronym of the Odom-Woodhall Legion, a group of former residents in the Division of Neurosurgery. The legion was named in honor of Drs. Barnes Woodhall and Guy Odom. Woodhall founded the Division of Neurosurgery in 1937 and served as its chief until 1960 when he became dean of the School of Medicine. Odom succeeded him DUDI] Intercom Duke University Medical Center as division head in the same year. The neurosurgeons are coming from as far away as Hawaii and California to hear 26 papers to be given by legion members on various aspects of their specialty. The scientific presentations will be made all day today and Saturday morning in the Markee Lecture Hall (M-224, green zone) on the second floor oi the Davison Building. The event gives current and former neurosurgery residents ar opportunity to see one another ever\ two years and also to pay homage to the men who guided them through their long training. Woodhall and Odom have won numerous awards for their contributions to medicine and both have been national presidents of the most prestigious neurosurgical societies. Woodhall, who is James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery, retired from the Duke faculty in August, 1974. Odom, also James B Duke Professor of Neurosurgery, will step down as neurosurgery division chief at the end of October. VOLUME 23, NUMBER 42 OCTOBER 22,1976 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA Most Talented May Score Lower On Tests By David Williamson A Duke psychologist and educator believes college board and professional school examinations may be keeping some of the nation's most talented young people out of the best colleges and universities. Experts Discuss Handicaps Of Face and Mouth Handicaps of the head, face and mouth, such as cleft lips and palates, will be discussed at a day-long conference today at the Ramada Inn Downtown sponsored by the Division of Orthodontics, the Center for Speech and Hearing Disorders and the Kiwanis Club of Durham. More than 100 dentists, physicians, social workers, speech and hearing specialists, rehabilitation counselors, nurses and special education teachers from throughout North Carolina are expected to attend. The conference coordinator. Dr. Raymond Massengill Jr., said that the conference, which begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 4:45 p.m., is open to the public. "We're interested in the general public's understanding these problems," Massengill said, "and the team treatment approach that goes into their correction." Its primary purpose is to acquaint health personnel and rehabilitation workers with the team approach to caring for people with the disorders, which are called oral-facial anomalies. They can result from congenital birth defects, burns, paralysis and various types of accidents. Twelve present and former Duke faculty members will present papers on subjects ranging from surgical correction of deformities to language problems experienced by patients. He also believes the examinations are poor predictors of success in later life. Dr. Michael A. Wallach, professor of {psychology, said his own research and studies done by others demonstrate that traditional measurements of academic skills, such as standardized tests and even grades, are being highly overemphasized by university admissions officers. Society May Be Loser Society may indirectly be the loser as a result of this overemphasis, he said, because the most valued academic credentials tend "to open doors to roles of greater influence." The psychologist, who has spent the past 18 years studying talents and skills both in children and in adults, published his views in a recent issue of American Scientist magazine under the title, "Tests Tell Us Little about Talent." "Above intermediate score levels, academic skills assessments (tests and grades) show so little validity as to be questionable bases on which to make decisions about students' futures," Wallach wrote. "What academic tests do predict are the results a person will obtain on other tests of the same kind." High Grades Predict High Scores The psychologist observed that students who receive the best grades through high school generally get the same high marks through the rest of their formal educations. They also tend to score the highest on standarcjized tests. But test scores and grades are not by themselves examples of merit, he pointed out. Instead, they are supposed to predict a student's potential for achievement in later life. Those who contribute the most to society are not uniformly the same group who do best on examinations or in their grades, he said studies show. No Higher than Controls "Chemists and mathematicians chosen by peers for the quality of their contributions were found to score no higher than controls on a variety of intellectual ability tests," he wrote. Further data on research scientists, psychologists, artists, doctors, engineers and businessmen have yielded the same outcome. Wallach cited several other studies that show student accomplishments, often outside the classroom, in science, literature, art, mus'C, dramatics and social service are much more accurate predictors of who tomorrow's leaders will be. Grades Determine Admissions Despite these findings, which have been accumulating in professional literature since the late 1950's, Wallach said university officials still seem to rely almost exclusively on test scores and grades in making their admissions decisions. For two successive years, in fact, he and another Duke psychologist. Dr. Cliff W. Wing Jr., were able to predict about 80 per cent of admissions office decisions "at a typical highly selective college" solely on the basis of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and grades of the applicants. Wallach said their results contradict the statements of highly selective institutions who say they (Continued on page 4) EARLY MURNINC ENCOURAGEMENT—Members oi the mornmg class ot the Duke University Preventive Approach to Cardiology (DUPAC) program had a visit one day last week from Dr. Kenneth Cooper, developer of the aerobics system of exercise. Cooper, who spoke at the medical center later in the day, commended the participants for beginning their day with exercise. For a report on his speech, see page 3. (Photo by Jim Wallace)
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Oct. 22, 1976, edition 1
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