Drop in SAT scores biggest in 31 years

AP ^ | 8/29/06 | Justin Pope

[TomGuy]

That's curious. Something smells in academia land.

This article showed up a few days ago:

ACT scores highest since 1991

Posted by ark_girl On News/Activism 08/22/2006 5:42:14 PM CDT · 21 replies · 412+ views CNN.com ^ | 08/22/2006 | AP Average composite scores on the exam, which measures students' readiness for college-level work, rose to 21.1 from 20.9 last year. Both boys and girls posted gains, as did all racial groups except Hispanics, whose scores held steady. ACT scores range from 1 to 36. Officials at the independent, nonprofit ACT said an increase of 0.2 points is significant when considered across a record 1.2 million test-takers nationwide, or 40 percent of graduating seniors. "It takes an enormous amount of change for that large a group to move even a little bit, particularly when that group is changing and we're seeing...

[Jedidah]

Whole different test, different questions, completely different content. They never give the same one twice.

And the content is much harder, not easier. Kids today are asked to know much more math than we did -- it's a tech world, folks. I had high scores back in my day, but doubt seriously I could do well today.

Another factor impacting SAT stats is that many more kids are taking it. Remember when you needed a high school diploma to get a good job? For most of today's kids, it's a college diploma, even though reality suggests that not all of us are college material. But they're still urged to take the test, and those low scores pull overall stats down.

Anybody can register for the SAT. I strongly suggest that some of the folks blowing hard on this thread go take it themselves and report their scores back to us.

[ConservaTexan]

The NEA has announced that this is all Bush's fault.

[School of Rational Thought]

And this is after they adjusted up scores a few years back?

[sully777]

In my great grandfather's day...the kids quit school to work the factories at age 9 to 12. Great grandpa married at age 14 and produced 7 children till the old gal died at age 35 during a septic child birth of the 8th child (they lost two as still borns previously). Then grandpa finished high school on account he couldn't work the slaughterhouse with my granduncles. Grandpa married grandma at age 18 (she was 14) and they had five kids. He had a snazzy job at the railroad until the Depression hit. Then he worked odd jobs along with grandma taking in boarders. Then WWII came along and foreign competition was obliterated. The businesses hired all comers and the unions contracted insane wages and promised employment for life...then the jobs went south because of low wages and no unions. Dad worked and married mom when he was in his early 20s. They had five children and four went to college...All five children make more money and have more property than great grandpa ever imagined.

That's a pretty accurate picture of the "dumbing down" of America.

[SoftballMominVA]

Actually that makes sense. The SAT was rewritten and had a writing component added to it. The ACT has had no changes. There is a difference in the tests. My older daughter did poorly (imo) on the SAT, but performed very strongly on the ACT.

This speaks to a problem with the test rather than a problem with the student.

[buckeyenation]

On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average

There's your answer... the new SAT requires students to put together a competent essay. I took the test (twice) this spring, and it wasn't too long, too hard, or too stressful for the student who is given the information in school (ie: basic composition). The test is not the problem. The education system is.

[flyingtabby]

Been seeing a lot of talk on this about the use of calculators. Personally, I think the schools do our kids a BIG disservice by DEMANDING the use of calculators. When I was in school they didn't even exist. We took all the same math courses. Although I failed high school Algebra, I reviewed it heavily prior to the SAT. At the time, the total possible score was 1600. I scored a 620 in Math and a 750 on the verbal section. All without a calculator. The schools these days are NOT doing their jobs. I live in what is touted to be one of the country's best school systems, but I got so fed up with the ridiculous curriculum and the complete lack of an ability to teach my kids that I pulled them all and put them in parochial schools. Expensive? Yes, very. Worth it? Absolutely. My kids are now getting a good, classical education such as I had back in the 60's and 70's. My husband has been a Prof. at a major university for nearly 30 years and he is appalled at the lack of education of the students coming thru. Graduate degrees are handed out like lollipops especially to women and minorities. In fact, in one program, the instructors are not allowed to hand out poor grades. Of course, they don't anyway because there is a BIG incentive to look like all the students have learned alot. Until all of this changes, our entire educational system is going to go down the toilet. This started long before the Bush adminstration's "no child left behind" as some snidely put it - rather, it is the result of the politically correct having a death grip on the education system.

[Sicon]

Your tax dollars at work.

[buckeyenation]

This year's ACT did have a writing section added onto it, but it was optional. I also did better on the ACT...

[flyingtabby]

Especially in your case, as your grammer sucks. The apostrophe as you used it in "Indian's" is incorrect in this instance. You should have left it off - it indicates the possessive, not the plural. The plural of Indian is Indians.

[A CA Guy]

If you excluded illegal alien children from the results, what would the outcome be?

[SoftballMominVA]

I do remember that now. There was an extra fee for the writing test and it came at the end, after all of the other testing. She opted out.

[flyingtabby]

You must have lived in Cleveland. Or possibly Chicago, or even Buffalo........LOL!!!!

[mollynme]

Twice?? TWICE???

I wonder if they are referencing the PSAT which, in effect, lets you take the test twice so that the one that really counts won't be so stressful. I took those tests 30+ years ago.

[FreedomNeocon]

FYI: When I took my SAT's in 1997 the 'math' section went past basic math, past simple algebra, past geometry, and into intermediate calculus and trigonometry.

Not sure how that compares to older SAT's, but my parents always seemed to be overwhelmed with that level of complexity.

Not that it was crazy math, like volumetric calculations in a kinetic state with all kinds of triple integrals, but up to at least double with a 2 or 3 simultaneous equations required to solve.

[bondservant]

Is this the result of the "No Child Left Behind" policy?

I'm just wondering if this is the real policy . . . if no child ever gets started, no child will be left behind.

[RightWhale]

Is the current trend toward cheating on homework having an effect in this?

[airplaneguy]

Who the hell really cares? SAT's are useless anyway. I failed miserably on mine and 5 years later graduated Cum Laude from a prestigious university. 15 years later (present time) I landed a 6 figure job with lots of time off. Knowing the definition of obscure words doesn't prove success. Many, many people have done just fine without high SAT scores to pat themselves on the back with.

Cheers.

[Dumb_Ox]

How well do kids used to writing on computers do when they have to use a pencil again? My penmanship was already suffering PC-induced decline in '96, today it'd probably be even worse for such kids.