
How to distinguish good and bad programmers before they even start learning CS - shadchnev
http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDArea/saeed/paper1.pdf
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cperciva
There are lots of tests which can distinguish potential good programmers from
those who lack that possibility; for example, the LSAT is mostly a test of
logical reasoning and would serve ideally for this purpose.

The problem for Computer Science departments isn't a lack of available tests;
rather, the problem is policies (mostly from governments) which require CS
departments to take in as many students as possible, whether qualified or not.
In my area (BC, Canada), the government decided six years ago that
universities should double the number of computer science degrees they hand
out -- at exactly the same time as the number of applicants was dropping
sharply due to the dot-com bubble bursting. Unsurprisingly, the requirements
for admission to CS programs fell dramatically, and (thanks to the flood of
unqualified students) the number of students failing first and second year CS
courses went through the roof.

We know how to identify good vs. bad students -- the problem is a lack of
willpower to do anything with that information.

~~~
gruseom
_There are lots of tests which can distinguish potential good programmers from
those who lack that possibility_

According to the paper, this is exactly wrong. It's notoriously difficult to
test for programming aptitude. That's what makes the authors' test interesting
(assuming it holds up - the paper is entertainingly written but the data set
is small).

The subject is troublesome in many ways. It's not just the students who fail;
there are lots of successful CS graduates who aren't good programmers either.

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bayareaguy
The title of this submission is a little misleading.

Here is the conclusion of the paper: _There is a test for programming
aptitude, or at least for success in a first programming course. We have
speculated on the reasons for its success, but in truth we don't understand
how it works any more than you do. An enormous space of new problems has
opened up before us all._

