[Marius3188]

I bet if we outsource the SAT to students in India we could get higher scores...:)

[Jeff Head]

What a crock. I wish I could have taken a few of my college tests twice and then counted the higher scores. Mush headed, liberal academia...all show and no substance.

[1Old Pro]

In other news, spending per student has hit 31 year highs.

Therefore spending is invversely related to test scores so enough of the we need more money for the "kids" cries from the unions.

[jpl]

When I took the SAT we had to write essays. Oh, and we weren't allowed to use calculators either.

Looks like they may need to another dumbdown adjustment again pretty soon.

[ClearCase_guy]

We've been here before, and we know how to fix this problem:

Add 50 points to everyone's score and then pat ourselves on the back for our outstanding educational system.

[fatnotlazy]

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

[BelegStrongbow]

Looks like a race to the bottom, what with so many kids trying to act ghetto-maxed. One way to prove your street cred is to be dumb on tests. That'll show the Man.

/sarc

[MarkT]

Well, it certainly sounds like it is time to boost the baseline another 100 points so today's children do not lose their self-esteem. Certainly, its not time to actually improve schools through vouchers, etc.

[sully777]

Education ping (if you know someone who can determine the drop in SAT scores)

IIRC, most savvy students prefer ACT tests and ignore SAT tests altogether.

I wonder if the drop is due, in large measure, to the pool of quality students tested rather than the overall pool of US students.

Maybe we could find an educator to comment?

[stm]

We are now reaping the seeds we have sown by letting liberals dictate education in this country. This is evidence of the "dumbing down" of our children thanks to liberal policies. We shouldn't put so much stress on our children as to force them to do homework, take tests and act responsibly and respectfully towards teachers and fellow classmates.

I was not permitted to use a calculator either, and was required to turn in my math worksheet with the test. I didn't do that great, around 1100, but it was good enough to get me into my first choice of school (UNC-CH)

[don'tbedenied]

Look guys and gals I hate to punch a hole in your knee jerk reaction but did you read the article? There's a new version of the test. It's significantly longer than the old test and the scores have dropped.
I doubt kids suddenly got stupider. The testing service messed up. The test is too long.
For the record, I too believe that schools have gotten worse not better. But big changes in scores don't happen overnight, unless the test is different.
The testing service is in denial.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

More focus on academics is needed bottom line.

[Jedidah]

This is a silly story.

Of course the scores are lower. They've changed the test dramatically, made it much longer and more difficult. It is totally unfair to compare it with scores from prior years.

A few years ago -- late 90's -- SAT "re-centered" the scoring scale. No difference in test content, just a different way of reporting scores. An old 1100 became a 1200, etc. It was a statistical correction, but people tried to compare old scores with new ones then, too.

Hogwash. It's a whole new test this year, completely incomparable with years past.

As for taking the test more than once, that, too, has been common practice for years. Generally, kids take it first as high school juniors to acquaint themselves with the structure, content, and length of the exam, then "for real" as high school seniors. Difference in scores is usually minimal. All of my sons did that, and we're talking maybe 20 points difference between the tests, which could be attributed to a couple of good guesses or maybe just another year of maturity.

This doesn't reflect badly on anybody. Quit the mullygrumping and move on.

[Tokra]

said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.

Twice?? TWICE???

WTF??

If I had been allowed to take the test twice - I'm sure I would have had a much better score.

Do you want your brain surgeon to have the chance to take his board exams twice?

I don't.

[rottndog]

My wife is a high school teacher and she has been seeing this for a couple of years now--a severe drop in basic skills that drags all other academic indicators down.

I think what we are seeing is the first waves of the whole language/new new math kids hitting high schools and colleges. These kids lack the most basic skills in reading and comprehension, and that severely affects all other skill sets. This is a complete and total repudiation of the education fads of the 90s, and unfortunately there is going to be millions of kids who have been damaged by them.

Of course, you will never hear any of the education industrial complex take any of the blame--they will just whine about not having enough money.

This is why we need to get the government out of the education business. It needs to be contracted out to the private sector, just as many functions of government are. Where is it written in stone that education has to be provided by public employees?

[Obie Wan]

Yeah and tomorrow you'll read another article here about the failings of a charter school or what a bad idea a school voucher system or home schooling is.Read the above article and weep folks because the handwriting has been on the wall for years.When it comes to public education we pay more and more for less and less !!!

[boomop1]

Not enough sex, Madonna and diversity questions.

[Rippin]

Let me guess..."Blue states lead the way down?"

[no dems]

Are we surprised? We've got kids in school today more interested in smoking weed, doing Ecstasy, watching MTV, blowing any imaginative substance their brain ever had on video games, the "non-sex" oral sex, and rainbow parties. Not to mention parents who don't give a "tinkers flip" whether their kids succeed or not and teachers who "walk" after having sex with their students.

HERE'S A TIP FOR PARENTS of school age kids from a former High School Teacher:

Tell your kids that the competition isn't as keen for success today as it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Tell them that if they will apply themselves, while others are frying their brains, they will have a bright future when their classmates are in prison or working at the car wash.

[FreedomNeocon]

I got 1260