tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post5689220856217114735..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: SAT Changes (in a Big Way)Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12935562676673242262014-03-07T09:03:18.380-08:002014-03-07T09:03:18.380-08:00I wish there was a way that we could use tests wit...I wish there was a way that we could use tests without becoming tied up in politics and high stakes and gaming, because I think they are a useful tool for learning. <br /><br />I think the SAT has always suffered from not knowing what it wants to do (starting with the army aptitude test, morphing into an aptitude test for college, and then whatever it's supposed to do now -- predict college performance?). <br /><br />I also think the frustration of high stems from the basic premise of "tiger mom" high achieving -- that through concerted practice you can produce excellence on any measurement instrument. But, the strategy only works if the measurement doesn't keep changing. <br /><br />zbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28609460149300733432014-03-07T08:58:46.587-08:002014-03-07T08:58:46.587-08:00I think they should experiment with the mint at th...I think they should experiment with the mint at the front of the test. I bet that could change scores. <br /><br />zbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2122864959350041272014-03-06T22:20:38.523-08:002014-03-06T22:20:38.523-08:00Another good article about the change: http://www....Another good article about the change: http://www.theonion.com/articles/changes-to-the-sat,35461/?ref=auto<br /><br />ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76893601092688117822014-03-06T12:10:51.737-08:002014-03-06T12:10:51.737-08:00Meant College Board.
--- swkMeant College Board.<br /><br />--- swkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-17769269390768305022014-03-06T12:10:09.476-08:002014-03-06T12:10:09.476-08:00If you are interested in a history of the SAT and ...If you are interested in a history of the SAT and the College Read, I would encourage you to read The Big Test by Nicholas Lemann. Fascinating reading.<br /><br />--- swkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-56843887098732579282014-03-06T10:44:22.531-08:002014-03-06T10:44:22.531-08:00I would say that I was lugubrious with nostalgia f...I would say that I was lugubrious with nostalgia for the old SAT, but then that wouldn't be correct--I would actually be talking about the PSAT. The SAT was an afterthought in the family I grew up in. <br /><br />My mother was a seventies version of a "tiger mom," by God, her kids were going to get into college. The fact that our family with nine kids was surviving on my father's salary as a mechanic mean that there was no money for college. So she hit on a plan in which the kids would start studying as highschool freshmen to ace the PSAT. <br /><br />It is interesting that now the test is trying to measure more about what students are taught. That wasn't the case when we were growing up in the seventies. Back then, the test was supposed to measure aptitude--so it was heavy on analysis--which it would try to get at with analogies or dense reading with arcane vocabulary. On my fourteenth birthday I received a pretty worn out copy of a "Word Power Made Easy" and a new copy of a study guide for "Miller Analogies." And the studying began. <br /><br />The payoff was huge for our family. Four out of nine kids were National Merit Scholars, and back then, the $1200 scholarship it provided covered a quarter to half of college tuition. If we had not "gamed the system," and studied material not covered in school, I'm fairly certain we would not have had the money to attend college. <br /><br />I'm glad they got rid of the essay question on the tests that my kids took. The <i>New York Times</i> article which discusses Les Perelman's research is very revealing about the validity of that part of the exam. Overall, I was far more impressed with that article than I was with the news that the SAT was being changed. Like Melissa, though, I am very concerned about the ties to Common Core State Standards, especially the fact that David Coleman, the president of the College Board helped write the Common Core State Standards. Yikes. It would be a shame if the price a school pays for flaunting the Common Core State Standards is exacted on its students SAT scores.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03542105149501352547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28448721658101401312014-03-06T09:09:59.124-08:002014-03-06T09:09:59.124-08:00Here's a short but enjoyable bit from the New ...Here's a short but enjoyable bit from the New Yorker about the change: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/03/the-college-board-retakes-the-sat.html<br /><br />And a link to Elizabeth Kolbert's longer article about taking the (current) SATs as an adult: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/03/03/140303fa_fact_kolbert?currentPage=all<br /><br />ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-741790386357957742014-03-06T08:35:03.692-08:002014-03-06T08:35:03.692-08:00Link to New York Times' (very long)article on ...Link to New York Times' (very long)article on the same subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?hp&_r=0<br /><br />Mom of 4Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com