Posted on Sep 3, 2015
College Board reports lower SAT scores, most test-takers missing college-ready benchmark. What is the cause and how do we change directions
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Is Standardized Testing Part of the problem?
Student performance on the SAT college entrance exam is lagging, continuing a mostly downward trend over the last five years.
The College Board says in a report that a record number of students took the exam.
The nonprofit organization, which administers the exam, said in a report released Thursday that the mean score in reading was 495, down from 497 the previous year. For math, it was 511, down from 513. Writing scores dropped three points, to 484 from 487. The top score in each category is 800.
The latest scores continue a decline since 2010, when the means were 500 in reading, 515 in math, and 491 in writing.
A record 1.7 million students from the Class of 2015 took the exam, up from 1.67 million in the 2014 class.
The College Board says about 42 percent of test-takers, more than 712,000 students, met a benchmark that indicates they're likely ready for college-level work or career-training programs. The benchmark is a combined score of 1550 or higher for math, reading and writing. The percentage meeting that benchmark has largely remained the same in the last few years.
About 16 percent of African-Americans met that benchmark; 61 percent of Asian test-takers hit it, followed by about 53 percent of white test-takers, 33 percent of Native Americans and 23 percent of Hispanics.
"We know we can, and need, to do better," says Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment for the Board. "Simply doing the same things we have been doing is not going to improve these numbers."
The SAT exam is undergoing a major revamp that will roll out next year. The idea behind the update is to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. The redesign will focus more on areas of math that matter most for college and career readiness, shift away from obscure vocabulary words, and eliminate the guessing penalty.
The College Board is also teaming up with online educator Khan Academy to offer free SAT practice to all students through diagnostic quizzes and interactive practice tests. They will be accessible to anyone with Internet access.
The report said there's also been an increase in the number of students taking the Advanced Placement, or AP, exams and PSAT/NMSQT exam. Passing an AP exam can earn test-takers college credit. The PSAT/NMSQT test is sometimes viewed as a precursor to the SAT. It is used to assess student performance and as a qualifier for National Merit Scholarships.
About 3.8 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT test in the fall of 2014. AP exams were taken by about 2.5 million students in 2015.
More than 1.5 million students received a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam in 2015, up slightly from the previous year.
Depending on the school and the state, college credit may be awarded for scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exams.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/03/college-board-reports-lower-sat-scores-most-test-takers-missing-college-ready/
Student performance on the SAT college entrance exam is lagging, continuing a mostly downward trend over the last five years.
The College Board says in a report that a record number of students took the exam.
The nonprofit organization, which administers the exam, said in a report released Thursday that the mean score in reading was 495, down from 497 the previous year. For math, it was 511, down from 513. Writing scores dropped three points, to 484 from 487. The top score in each category is 800.
The latest scores continue a decline since 2010, when the means were 500 in reading, 515 in math, and 491 in writing.
A record 1.7 million students from the Class of 2015 took the exam, up from 1.67 million in the 2014 class.
The College Board says about 42 percent of test-takers, more than 712,000 students, met a benchmark that indicates they're likely ready for college-level work or career-training programs. The benchmark is a combined score of 1550 or higher for math, reading and writing. The percentage meeting that benchmark has largely remained the same in the last few years.
About 16 percent of African-Americans met that benchmark; 61 percent of Asian test-takers hit it, followed by about 53 percent of white test-takers, 33 percent of Native Americans and 23 percent of Hispanics.
"We know we can, and need, to do better," says Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment for the Board. "Simply doing the same things we have been doing is not going to improve these numbers."
The SAT exam is undergoing a major revamp that will roll out next year. The idea behind the update is to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. The redesign will focus more on areas of math that matter most for college and career readiness, shift away from obscure vocabulary words, and eliminate the guessing penalty.
The College Board is also teaming up with online educator Khan Academy to offer free SAT practice to all students through diagnostic quizzes and interactive practice tests. They will be accessible to anyone with Internet access.
The report said there's also been an increase in the number of students taking the Advanced Placement, or AP, exams and PSAT/NMSQT exam. Passing an AP exam can earn test-takers college credit. The PSAT/NMSQT test is sometimes viewed as a precursor to the SAT. It is used to assess student performance and as a qualifier for National Merit Scholarships.
About 3.8 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT test in the fall of 2014. AP exams were taken by about 2.5 million students in 2015.
More than 1.5 million students received a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam in 2015, up slightly from the previous year.
Depending on the school and the state, college credit may be awarded for scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exams.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/03/college-board-reports-lower-sat-scores-most-test-takers-missing-college-ready/
Education
Higher Education
Parenting
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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I think the main reason for the mean decreasing is the increase of students taking the test. If 100% of high school students were required to take the SAT's the mean would be even lower.
My three boys all took the "new" SAT's, (guess they're not so new anymore) all did very well on all three sections. All three also had very strong grades in high school. They all got into solid schools, did well at them and are all productive young men with one SM. So for us, they were a strong predictor of future performance.
On a side note we have a young friend arriving from Maine tomorrow (my wife's home state) who got a perfect score on the SAT's, as well as all 5's on her subject tests. She had above a 4.0 GPA, and was the valedictorian of her class in high school all while working and being a team captain and varsity letter winner! She is beginning her college career at Princeton on Saturday and I predict she is going to do well also! She also had a great role model in her big sister, an Air Force Academy graduate and SM AF pilot. She did well on her SAT's too! ;)
My three boys all took the "new" SAT's, (guess they're not so new anymore) all did very well on all three sections. All three also had very strong grades in high school. They all got into solid schools, did well at them and are all productive young men with one SM. So for us, they were a strong predictor of future performance.
On a side note we have a young friend arriving from Maine tomorrow (my wife's home state) who got a perfect score on the SAT's, as well as all 5's on her subject tests. She had above a 4.0 GPA, and was the valedictorian of her class in high school all while working and being a team captain and varsity letter winner! She is beginning her college career at Princeton on Saturday and I predict she is going to do well also! She also had a great role model in her big sister, an Air Force Academy graduate and SM AF pilot. She did well on her SAT's too! ;)
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This is what happens when teachers and school districts teach to the standardized tests and not what kids really need to know. This is why our educational system is falling behind the rest of the world.
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The problems with our current education system are almost to many to list. They include: School administrators who are more concerned about feeding kids then teaching them. Rampant social promotion of students who have not learned the prior years curriculum. A fifth or more of the student-teacher contact days taken from teaching students so you can have Common Core testing, inservice training for teachers, social indoctrinization for students, liberal snow days, school spirit days, etc. Teachers forced to stick to the common core schedule despite half the class not having learned the prior weeks lessons. Teachers forced to "teach the common core test" rather than teaching students their lessons. School administrators and parents that listen to/support the student over the adult teacher. A general level of disrespect by students and parents for teachers. Teachers forced to dedicate a large portion of their time to physically, mentally, and emotionally challanged students who are placed in their classrooms for "socialization" purposes. The deletion of Industrial Arts programs which helped take problem students out of the traditional classes. The wholescale segmenting of curriculum for normal students (dumbed down) and the highly advanced International Baccalaureate program. These are all problems that can be fixed at the local School Board, Administrator and teacher level. Unfortunately, current American policy is to seek greater control and centralization of schools at the State and Federal level.
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