SAT: Barometer For College Success?

By Laurie Borst

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. How do you improve your score on the SAT? “Five ways,” says NHS Guidance Director Neil Culhane. “Read, read, read, read, and read some more. Read books on the summer reading lists. Yes, read Time and Newsweek, but read the classics. They represent our culture.”

In the 1960s, it was S.A.T. and stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test. In the 80s, it was still S.A.T. but stood for Scholastic Assessment Test. Today, it is just SAT, standing for nothing specific.

“It is still an aptitude test,” said Mr Culhane. “An aptitude test measures your ability to think, to extrapolate information, to make inferences. An achievement test, on the other hand, measures what you learned — list the causes of the Revolutionary War, name the parts of the cell.”

For decades, the SAT was the baseline criterion used by colleges to make decisions on admissions. In 1949, the first standardized test, the future SAT, was devised.

“At that time, the vast majority of people applying to colleges and universities were white, male, and rich,” said Mr Culhane. “It was not a diverse population.”

Today, many colleges are moving away from the SAT as a barometer for college success. Cultural bias has been cited on many occasions. Harvard, Dartmouth, and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) have all done studies that point to bias against poor African-Americans and Hispanics who do not have access the same cultural experiences as their well-to-do counterparts.

To compound the problem, there has been controversy over scoring in recent years. The newly revamped three-part SAT has been called into question.

“There are three sections. Critical Reading is what we used to call the verbal section. Math is still math. And they have added the Writing component,” explained Mr Culhane. “Last year, every college representative who came in said their schools were not looking at the writing piece. There are questions on its validity and reliability.”

Mr Culhane explained that the writing section is viewed as a “rough draft.” Students taking the test see a writing prompt for the first time and have 20 minutes to respond to it. Colleges do not consider this a true sample of a student’s writing ability.

And the college essay, required by virtually all schools, is a piece that has been viewed by many eyes and had many rewrites. It is a polished piece of work. “What some colleges ask for is an original piece of writing that has been turned in to the teacher for correction. That paper with the red pen on it is a better indicator of a student’s true ability,” stated Mr Culhane.

If students and/or parents feel prep work is necessary, many courses are offered to improve one’s chances of a good score on the SAT. Some of these courses cost as much as $900. Another point in the bias argument.

Research shows the outcome of SAT prep courses, for the students who take them, to be one-third improve, one-third stay the same, and one-third do worse.

“Just because you took a prep course, doesn’t mean improved scores,” reported Mr Culhane. “Prep courses teach you test-taking strategies, give you practice, and from that, more confidence. If you scored 400–500 (out of a possible 800) on one part, it is recommended you take the test again.”

Mr Culhane said in his department, they counsel students that they should take the SAT no more than twice. Colleges look at the highest score on each part. For example, a student takes the test in May of junior year and scores 600 verbal and 400 math. In October of senior year, that same student takes the test again and scores 500 verbal and 700 math. Colleges will look at the 600 verbal and 700 math, the highest score on each part.

“Another strategy to remember is, don’t guess,” Mr Culhane said. “You lose more points for a wrong answer than one left blank.”

Mr Culhane shares that strategy with students when he visits classrooms in the fall to talk about the test. Tenth grade English classes and eleventh grade history classes all get a visit from the Guidance Department where they preview a variety of test-taking strategies.

“I really have to thank both of those departments for giving up time for me to speak with the students,” he said.

The ACT is another standardized test available that is accepted by colleges. It is achievement based and, therefore, easier to improve one’s score by studying.

“Unlike the SATs, one can guess on this test. Kids like this test,” said Mr Culhane, “because it uses subjects they are currently studying. ACT uses more common references.”

Mr Culhane used the example of a passage from a speech that students had to read and answer questions about. The SAT might have a passage from a speech by Cicero. A lot of students would not recognize Cicero. They have no concept of when he lived, where he lived, etc. Many students will freeze up and not answer any questions because they do not know about the person.

On the other hand, the ACT might have a passage from a speech by Abraham Lincoln. Even a if student was not familiar with the speech, Abe Lincoln is someone more familiar to students. They know when he lived, details about his life, the politics of his world. They are more inclined to attempt the questions on this passage.

Many institutes of higher learning are putting less emphasis on both the SAT and ACT. Art and music schools have always put more emphasis on a portfolio or an audition. Colleges today are looking to the SAT/ACT scores for placement purposes, but focus more on the student’s transcript.

“The transcript lists courses taken, the level of challenge, grades, patterns of performance,” said Mr Culhane.

He explained that if a student takes the SAT twice, the best scores represent six hours of time (the SAT takes three hours to administer). The high school transcript, showing freshman year through graduation, is the sum total of cumulative hours spent in class, studying, doing homework, projects, tests, quizzes, and exams. This represents an average of 6,000 hours.

“Of course, for the larger universities, like UConn, University of Chicago, UCLA, the numbers are important,” Mr Culhane explained. “They receive tens of thousands of applications and need some criteria for a cut-off point.”

So if you are hoping for a good score on the standardized test, follow Mr Culhane’s advise and read, read, read, read, and read some more.