This alarming article in the Journal illustrates declining SAT scores. Don’t fall behind! The WF Study Center can help you score the best you can with one on one or group classes. For many years, Kristen has helped students perform at their best for the test. Get your edge today!
The original article is Here:
SAT scores for the high-school graduating class of 2011 fell in all three subject areas, and the average reading and writing scores were the lowest ever recorded, according to data released on Wednesday.
The results from the college-entrance exam, taken by about 1.6 million students, also revealed that only 43% of students posted a score high enough to indicate they were ready to succeed in college, according to the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the exam. Students had to score a 1550 out of a possible 2400 to meet that benchmark, which would indicate a 65% chance of getting at least a B-minus average in the first year of college, the Board calculated.
The report on the SAT, long known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, comes on the heels of results from the ACT college-entrance exam that suggested only 25% of high-school graduates who took that exam were ready for college. And results from national high-school math and reading exams show only modest progress over the past five years. The data highlight the difficult task faced by the Obama administration in pursuing education policies to help Americans remain globally competitive.
“At the precise time the importance of a college degree is increasing, the ability of the U.S. to compete in a global economy is decreasing,” said Jim Montoya, vice president of the College Board. “We, as a nation, have to do a better job preparing our kids for college.”
For the graduating class of 2011, the average reading score dropped to 497 from 500 points in 2010, on a 200-to-800-point scale. That is the lowest score since 1972, when the College Board began calculating the average scores of individual graduating classes. Reading scores have been steadily declining since 2005.
WSJ’s Joe Barrett discusses the latest report on SAT scores by U.S. students. The results are disappointing. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
The writing score dipped to 489, down from 491 last year. Writing scores have gone down almost every year since the exam was first given in 2006. In math, the 2011 graduating class posted a composite score of 514, down from 515 in 2010. Math scores have bounced up and down a few points annually for a decade.
The SAT scores are closely watched because the exam measures the achievement of students who hope to attend America’s top colleges.
College Board officials noted that the declining scores can be attributed, in part, to a larger and more diverse test-taking population. As more students aim for college and sit for the exam, scores decline.
Ten years ago, 8% of test takers were Latino, compared with 15% in 2011. For black students, the percentage jumped to 13%, compared with 9% in 2001. A growing percentage of students also grew up speaking a language other than English, and more than one-fifth of this year’s test takers were poor enough to receive a waiver to take the exam for free.
Students who took a core curriculum, defined as four years of English and three or more of math, natural science and social science, did much better. Still, only 49% of them posted a score high enough to be considered college-ready, compared with 30% of students who didn’t take a core. College Board officials noted that the reading scores have been declining most dramatically for students who took less than a core curriculum.
Kent Williamson, executive director of the National Council of Teachers of English, said that during the past decade, he has seen a narrowing of how reading is taught. “In many schools, especially those most impoverished, reading programs are not about building cognitive abilities or a love of reading,” he said. “They are built around rote learning of language, and I think we are seeing the results of that.”
{ 0 comments }
