Posted on 08/30/2005 12:35:48 PM PDT by nypokerface
The high school class of 2005 earned the highest-ever marks on the math portion of the SAT, a modest change that continues the steady 25-year trend of improvement on the country's most popular standardized college entrance exam.
Significant gaps between racial groups remain, however, and officials said they are troubled by the comparative lack of progress in scores on the test's verbal section.
Last year's seniors averaged 520 out of a possible 800 on the math portion, 2 points higher than the class of 2004. Average scores on the verbal section were unchanged at 508, according to results released Tuesday by the College Board, the nonprofit organization that owns the SAT.
While this year's increase was modest, "over the last 13 years the increase in math scores has been about 19 points, and that's fairly significant," said Wayne Camara, the group's director of research, at a news conference Tuesday.
The College Board also released its first glimpse of data on the new version of the SAT, which features a writing section with an essay, and which members of the class of 2006 began taking last spring. Those students appeared to find the new section the hardest, with average scores of 516, compared to 519 in critical reading (the new name for verbal) and 537 in math.
"Those scores will come down a little bit, the reason being the best and most aggressive students always take them in the spring," said College Board President Gaston Caperton.
For the class of 2005, scores improved for all ethnic groups, though significant gaps remain. Composite scores for black students rose 7 points to 864, but that remains more than 200 points below the average composite score for white students.
Over the last decade, composite scores for Asian-American students have shown the greatest improvement, increasing 44 points to 1091. Disparities in the kinds of courses taken by different groups remain a major obstacle to narrowing races gaps, the College Board said. It pointed out, for instance, that 44 percent of Asian-American students take calculus in high school, compared to just 14 percent of African-Americans.
"It's unfair to those kids who don't get to take those good courses and don't get the chance to go to college," Caperton said.
Camara said racial breakdowns for scores on the new writing test would not be released until next year, but he expects them to be narrower than on the other sections. Some critics have predicted the new writing section is biased against minority students and will exacerbate the gap.
The math scores come at a time when a variety of tests — on students of varying ages and measuring different kinds of skills — are presenting mixed signals about what if any progress American students are making in math.
Figures released in July from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed the nation's 9- and 13-year-olds recorded their highest math scores ever, but scores for 17-year-olds were flat.
A study released in December found U.S. eighth graders closing the gap with international peers in math and science. However, that study found fourth-graders slipping farther behind. And another study released at about the same time found the United States below 20 of 29 industrialized nations in math.
"Math achievement is going up in the United States in the long term," said Jack Jennings, president of the independent Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C. "It is not, however, where kids in the United States ought to be."
The ACT college entrance exam, a rival to the SAT that is more popular in about half the states, reported earlier this month that overall and math scores for the high school class of 2005 were unchanged from a year ago. Most colleges accept either test.
Scores on the SAT were "recentered" in 1995, which significantly increased students' average scores. The College Board then recalculated scores from previous years using the new system.
Officials said this year's math scores are the highest ever on that scale. However, the board had to use estimates to calculate average scores before 1972.
Bad news is: they have NO idea how or why our nation was founded.
In related news, a new world record in the 100-yard dash was set by Guliver McCready when he finished the 90-yard race in 8.7 seconds.
"It's unfair to those kids who don't get to take those good courses and don't get the chance to go to college," Caperton said.Huh? Are African-American kids getting turned away from calculus classes?
Of course, they keep dumbing down the test, so records are kind of meaningless.
Maybe the verbal section of SAT should be redesigned to include maximum coarse and profane vocabulary and usage. I bet a can of diet Coke that the scores would skyrocket..
This probabaly doesn't mean much unless they consider the fact that the scoring changed some years ago. You can now apparently get a 1600(800x2) without getting all the answers correct.
okay, then
Huh? Are African-American kids getting turned away from calculus classes?
You didn't know? Guidance counselors threaten them at gunpoint and prohibit them from enrolling in all the stuff that will help them get ahead in life.
Caperton is the former democrat governor of West Virginia, isn't he?
a)4
b)4
c)4
d)4
e)All of the above
Guidance counselors threaten them at gunpoint and prohibit them from enrolling in all the stuff that will help them get ahead in life.I figured it must be something like that... It had the be "The Man" holding these kids back... I'm glad I stopped by this thread... Now I know the truth!
In related news, a new world record in the 100-yard dash was set by Guliver McCready when he finished the 90-yard race in 8.7 seconds.
Mine did quite well, thank you! 710 on the Math, and very high on the other two sections also. Two major colleges are already in the scholarship bidding...
He went the Public school route for five years. Then he tried the best private school in our area for three years.
His complaint? The environment was not conducive to learning! We started homeschooling him halfway through 7th grade, and he took off like a rocket...it was scary. Now, he is a true autodidact. He has written a 1,500 page novel, is currently taking calculus and physics, and already whizzed by two years of college biology...
Kids will soak up knowledge like a sponge if they are in the right kind of environment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.