People No Like Long SAT, Reading

After receiving a letter from concerned admissions professionals that the 3 hour and 45 minute SATs had "become a burden on students" the College Board, which administers the test, is going to consider letting students take the test's three parts (math, reading comprehension and writing) in separate sittings.

Meanwhile, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy undertaken by the Department of Education, the "average American college graduate's literacy in English declined significantly over the past decade:"

The test also found steep declines in the English literacy of Hispanics in the United States, and significant increases among blacks and Asians.

When the test was last administered, in 1992, 40 percent of the nation's college graduates scored at the proficient level, meaning that they were able to read lengthy, complex English texts and draw complicated inferences. But on the 2003 test, only 31 percent of the graduates demonstrated those high-level skills. There were 26.4 million college graduates.

The college graduates who in 2003 failed to demonstrate proficiency included 53 percent who scored at the intermediate level and 14 percent who scored at the basic level, meaning they could read and understand short, commonplace prose texts.

Three percent of college graduates who took the test in 2003, representing some 800,000 Americans, demonstrated "below basic" literacy, meaning that they could not perform more than the simplest skills, like locating easily identifiable information in short prose.

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By Garth Johnston in News on December 17, 2005 12:49 PM

Comments [rss]

Toby

All standardized tests do is measure how well you do on standardized tests, except those mandated by government which also make it look like the government is doing something. The problem is that kids get taught for the tests, so they don't really get educated since they are in effect preparing for the test so the schools can get proper funding. But why should they get proper funding if they are not really teaching stuff that is useful, but instead how to take a standardized test.

The "College Board" who is responsible for the SAT makes a mint, so they defend their useless test like a lioness defending her cubs. They have a nice scam going.

erika

Frankenstein, while the test is supposed to measure your ability to reason in the areas of math, reading, and writing, its 3 hours and 45 minutes long. With the intructions, the break, its at least 4 hours for the test to be administered. Its excruciating and affects the ability to do well for many people. People can barely sits still for two hours to watch a good movies, its even harder to keep your mind concentrated for almost 4 hours on reading, math, and writing.

The Collegeboard really is just out to make money. They definitely belong on the Axis of Evil.

stygrd

Having just recently re-taken my SAT's, I can say with assurance that a 3 hour and 45 minute test in math, reading comprehension and writing...all at once...is unbearable! But considering hat I had to do it I think all those whiny punk kids should have to do it too. pah!

Frankenstein

Oh, 3.75 hours is too grueling? I somehow lack sympathy. Funny, I always thought that tests were, you know, supposed to be *tests*.

ruidh

I'm not sure I understand this. Supposedly IQ scores are on the rise, yet somehow SAT scores are simultaneoudly declining.

Brightliner

I don't think it's all that surprising. I'm not a xenophobe, but this country is going just a little too far in terms of catering to the Hispanic population. With so many signs, ads and forms in Spanish, there's less incentive for them to learn English and be assimilated.