This project assesses whether people can make valid judgments of another's personality and attitudes on the basis of limited information. The following essay was written for an education examination a few years ago by a Carleton junior, Allison Mackie.

The question, which the instructor assigned, was the following:

"Please construct a strong argument in favor of proposals to replace the current practice of direct funding of public schools with a voucher system for potential use in public and private schools."

"School vouchers are necessary to save the school systems of America. Vouchers will allow families from all economic backgrounds to choose which school their children go to. Vouchers will increase diversity and the quality of education by forcing schools to compete for students.

Vouchers will allow less well-off families to take advantage of other educational opportunities, such as private schools and magnet schools, by giving everyone an equal amount of starting money to use towards their child's education. Vouchers would save the state government money by paying schools a flat fee for each student they have enrolled, and it will save taxpayers money by reducing property tax bills.

Vouchers would encourage magnet schools and special programs because those could act as a draw to particular schools for students with particular interests (e.g., in the arts, math and science)."

-Allison Mackie