Posted on 08/29/2006 8:32:31 AM PDT by RushCrush
The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam's owner, the College Board, said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.
Fatigue wasn't to blame, the College Board insisted, even though this year's class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks, up from three hours previously.
The results come several months after numerous colleges reported surprisingly low SAT scores for this year's incoming college freshmen. The nonprofit College Board, which had said scores would be down this year, released figures Tuesday showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
If we reduce education spending to 0 we'll have infinitely smart kids!
It's an essay test.
How can it be scored the same as multiple guess?
As for more kids taking the exam, than in the sixties, no way. College was a draft deferment- everyone went, or at least the boys. I always thought that Community Colleges proliferated at this time, just to handle the kids with low SATs that wanted the deferment.
They have some value if they can get some kids into college who would otherwise not have gone. For most college prep types they don't do much but duplicate other information, true, except take up some additional space in a student personnel file.
I hesitate to mention this, because you're going to think that I'm nuts, but I used to do my son's SAT prep material on the computer, for the fun of it. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of the math, that I once knew, and a lot of the grammar. The test would be impossible for someone who has been out of school and away from academics as long as I have been.
My son took the PSAT and then took the SAT twice. His score went up slightly. He just wanted to see if it made any difference. You can actually take it as many times as you like. Since we home school, most colleges place a higher empahsis on the SAT.
Regarding the scoring being lower, I am wondering if they are taking into account that in the new test, a perfect score is 2400. If the scores are lower despite that, and are not adjusted, that doesn't bode well...
I also read that this (even the new one) doesn't really predict how well students will do in college anyway... so I wonder, other than making the College Board more money since the test is more expensive, what exactly is the point????
When I was in high school, we just showed up for the test, no prep, no calculator, just a #2 pencil. Now there is a whole lot of prep going on. A different world.
good post.
I completely ignored the SAT when I was in High School and took the ACT instead...
So did my brother and most of his friends....
I'm pretty sure the trend of kids ignoring the SATs and taking the ACTs has continued.
Actually, I wasn't being entirely sarcastic. I see a lot of kids buying into the ghetto mentality, not realizing what else it involves. Only sometimes are they aware and decide they don't care. Far to the contrary, kids would care a lot more if they really knew what was coming, given their choices.
It's when the teachers are casually sensible and who show just as a matter of how they walk around that sane and intelligent is cooler than dumbed-down that this culture can't get a foothold, even among those to whom it is most directly targeted.
Also, a lot of larger colleges (i know Ohio State and OU) give scholarships on a graduated scale of standardized test scores.
There's a reason why so many kids, me included, take the test multiple times, do prep courses, etc. Fair or not, the test is extremely important, and becoming more so...
Thank you, XBox!
They feel very good about themselves, though!
bump
Ahem. It's g-r-a-m-m-a-r. Pot, kettle. Note: if you're going to accuse someone of grammar infractions, make sure yours is absolutely impeccable.
I went to a party the night before my SAT, and slept in the HS parking lot so I wouldnt miss it.
Ahh, the benefits of being a "student athlete"
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