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May 11, 2006
What's in a number? SAT scores expected to slide
USA Today reported yesterday that some "colleges are reporting double-digit drops in the average SAT scores of applicants this year, even as other credentials, such as class rank and college-prep coursework, remained similar to or grew stronger than last year's."
Schools reporting the largest drop included Lebanon Valley College with a 28-point drop, Texas Christian University with a 23-point drop, the University of California system (nine campuses) with a 15-point drop, La Salle University with a 12-point drop, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a 12-point drop.
The Washington Post reports that the new test is 3 hours and 35 minutes long, compared with the previous test, which was only 3 hours long, and that this "longer test is wearing out test takers and hurting their performance."
Another factor that some guidance counselors say could be blamed is the cost of taking the test rose from $28.50 to $41.50, reducing the number of students who take the test more than once. On average, students who retest increase their combined reading and math scores. USA Today also reports that the College Board, which owns the test, is working with colleges to understand the large drops. James Montoya, vice president of the College Board, also estimated a "4- to 5- point decline this year across the critical reading and math sections, but all data are not in. Year-to-year fluctuations are common, he says."
Posted May 11, 2006 3:20 PM |
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