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SAT Scores See Biggest Decline Since 1975
Wall Street Journal ^ | 30 August 2006 | ROBERT TOMSHO

Posted on 08/30/2006 2:42:34 PM PDT by shrinkermd

SAT Scores See Biggest Decline Since 1975

The high-school class of 2006 suffered the biggest drop in SAT scores in more than three decades -- a development that may raise more questions about the recently revamped exam than the students who took it.

The College Board, the New York nonprofit that gives the admissions test, says scores in critical reading -- formerly known as verbal -- fell by five points to 503, out of 800 possible points. Math scores slipped two points, to 518, also out of 800 points. The combined decrease of seven points is the biggest since 1975, when there was a 16-point drop. Overall, math scores had been rising in the past decade, while reading has been relatively flat; there have been occasional small declines in either or both scores.

The scores announced yesterday were the first to fully reflect the revised test introduced in March 2005. Along with a writing section that consists of an essay and multiple-choice questions, the new test added higher-level algebra and did away with analogy questions on the reading section. Requiring nearly four hours to complete, the test has a possible score of 2,400 points, up from 1,600 points with the old 2½-hour test.

Scores on the new writing tests averaged 497 points out of 800, with females averaging 502, 11 points higher than males.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: act; college; sat
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To: shrinkermd

Didn't they already dumb it down at least once?


61 posted on 08/30/2006 4:33:59 PM PDT by truthkeeper (It's the borders, stupid.)
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To: shrinkermd

http://www.naebunny.net/~mommylemur/archives/2005/02/sat_scores_of_t.html

No, what I wanted to talk about was the scores of some famous people. For instance, Jennifer Lopez supposedly replied "Nail Polish" when asked what she got on her SAT. John Kerry and Oprah Winfrey refuse to reveal their scores.

Anyhow, the top score was 1600 when these folks took it.


And last year's average score was 1026 by way of comparison.

George W. Bush: 1206
Al Gore: 1335
Stephen King: 1300's
Amy Tan: 1100's
Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy: 1420
Bill Gates: 1590
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen: 1600


62 posted on 08/30/2006 4:34:13 PM PDT by COUNTrecount
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To: shrinkermd

My son took the ACT test in the spring of his sophomore year. He got a 30.

The SAT's are not important in this part of the country for some reason. It seems to be a "coastal" college test. So, he'll be skipping that since he's going to go to Missouri State. Since he got a 30 then he already has a guaranteed $8000 scholarship.


63 posted on 08/30/2006 4:34:53 PM PDT by Danette ("If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.")
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To: COUNTrecount
George W. Bush: 1206

George Bush beat me by 6 points.

Which still does not explain him signing McCain-Feingold.

Idiot.

64 posted on 08/30/2006 4:36:53 PM PDT by Wormwood (Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!)
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To: HitmanLV

SAT is an IQ correlate, and a part of the general "pedigree". In your field of law, if, say, you happened to interview a former clerk of, say, the late Chief Justice [the ultimate in post-graduate pedigree] - one could bet dollars against donuts that that person would have a stellar record, from SAT to law school and beyond, or he wouldn't have been there. And such people normally end in senior positions themselves.


65 posted on 08/30/2006 4:42:08 PM PDT by GSlob
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To: Jumpmaster
Huh? 502-497=5. Where does the 11 pt difference come from?

Oh Jumpmaster ....

66 posted on 08/30/2006 4:43:26 PM PDT by JohnnyZ ("I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose" -- Mitt Romney, April 2002)
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To: Wormwood
Which still does not explain him signing McCain-Feingold.

He probably filled in the wrong bubble with his #2 pencil.

67 posted on 08/30/2006 4:45:45 PM PDT by COUNTrecount
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To: Hildy
Why on Earth change a test that's been around for so long and worked so well.

I believe the state of Californistan threatened to stop using it unless it was changed to be less objective and racist. When Cali says jump, the College Board pulls out the trampoline.

68 posted on 08/30/2006 4:46:17 PM PDT by JohnnyZ ("I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose" -- Mitt Romney, April 2002)
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To: GSlob

What you are saying has some validity, but don't overstate it. A lot of what you are talking about has as much to do with networking among the top schools and its graduates, and legacies, as it has to academic pedigree.

My old firm wouldn't hire a former USSC Clerk based on clerking at the USC alone, or even largely. If they didn't fit our profile, for better or worse, we passed. That profile is fairly rigid for entry level, but a lot more fluid for laterals.

Doing well in schooling is circumstantial evidence of smarts, but not conclusive evidence of smarts. If all I knew about someone is that they scored in the top 1% of SAT scores, and all I knew about someone else is that they scored in the top 90% of SAT scores, I really can't draw a meaningful conclusion as to where they will each be a decade later, or two decades later. It just doesn't work that way.


69 posted on 08/30/2006 4:51:53 PM PDT by HitmanLV ("If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking until you do succeed." - Jerry 'Curly' Howard)
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To: HitmanLV

Top 90% cold get you some real dumbaxes.


70 posted on 08/30/2006 4:55:40 PM PDT by JohnnyZ ("I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose" -- Mitt Romney, April 2002)
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To: JohnnyZ

OOops, top 10%! Haha you are right!


71 posted on 08/30/2006 4:56:09 PM PDT by HitmanLV ("If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking until you do succeed." - Jerry 'Curly' Howard)
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ho can't spell.


72 posted on 08/30/2006 4:56:12 PM PDT by JohnnyZ ("I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose" -- Mitt Romney, April 2002)
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To: MarkL

OOPS! I guess that concentration is an important aspect of intelligence.

Nonetheless, genetics is also important.

Be picky. Find a woman of great intelligence and attractiveness (obviously not a Democrat).


73 posted on 08/30/2006 5:29:41 PM PDT by neocon1984 (end the idiocy of post-modernism)
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To: Onelifetogive

Uh, maybe males should have handicapped scores because they have a distinct blood loss from primary to secondary head, not to recover until the age of about 50.


74 posted on 08/30/2006 5:32:10 PM PDT by biff
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To: Neidermeyer
True. The good news is that interested parents can involve themselves to see that their children are challenged. Even though my daughter attended an excellent school, I saw to it that she worked with a local homeschool group every summer from junior high school on to get supplemental math, sciences and english classes.

She graduated from high school with honors and 5 AP class credits toward college. She scored 1480 on her SAT and a perfect score on her ACT. She received offers from several universities both in and out of state but opted for Texas A&M and is today working as an architect in New Orleans where she lives with her husband who is completing his last year at Tulane Law.

All that being said, I hope that she will not put any future grandchildren in public schools. Even the best of them are far below what they were when she graduated 6 years ago.

If you love your children or grandchildren, do not send them to government run schools.

75 posted on 08/30/2006 7:25:18 PM PDT by texgal (end no-fault divorce laws return DUE PROCESS & EQUAL PROTECTION to ALL citizens))
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To: shrinkermd

For starters, probably more students who cannot claim English as their first language are taking the test.


76 posted on 08/30/2006 7:28:32 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: HitmanLV

No you are wrong. As I stated prior to 1975 they were a good predictor of intelligence. They are not now because they have changed the test design. Read "The Bell Curve" and get a clue. The best science we have now is that intelligence does exist and about half of intelligence is heritable.


77 posted on 08/30/2006 7:31:44 PM PDT by RKV ( He who has the guns, makes the rules.)
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To: RKV
I do have a clue and have read The Bell Curve. Intelligence does exist, of course, and it is heritable, don't doubt that. That doesn't mean my observations are invalid or less valid - they can complement your conclusion, for example.

IQ doesn't wholly, or even mostly, determine success in life, nor does a score on an exam.
78 posted on 08/30/2006 7:39:03 PM PDT by HitmanLV ("If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking until you do succeed." - Jerry 'Curly' Howard)
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To: HitmanLV
When you tell them nobody cares about the tests, they don't take it very well.

It's the single most important thing validating their view of themselves. Not good, not good at all.

I agree with that.

79 posted on 08/30/2006 7:42:29 PM PDT by Victoria Delsoul
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To: HitmanLV
I wouldn't interpret it that way at all. First, performing well on a standardized test isn't a reliable indicator of intelligence. All it means is that you did well on the test.

The problem with your response is that the graph doesn't show the results of just one person. When large numbers of people of the same ethnic/racial backgrounds produce a graph like the one shown, the results are more likely to produce reliable data.

80 posted on 08/30/2006 7:42:35 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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