WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE

If you were already at odds with the SAT, you're not going to like this...

Class of 2007
Logs Slide
In SAT Scores
In Year With Record Number
Of Test Takers, Math Results
Show Worst Drop in 3 Decades
By ANNE MARIE CHAKER
August 29, 2007; Page D1

With results that will hardly put to rest the controversy over the merits of the SAT, scores for the high-school class of 2007 are in -- and they're down.

The point drop in the average math score for the latest year was the biggest in more than three decades, reported the College Board, the New York nonprofit that administers the college-admissions test. Math scores declined three points, to 515, from the previous year's 518 out of a possible 800. Critical reading -- formerly called "verbal" -- also dropped, to 502 from 503, marking the lowest score since 1994. Scores for the writing section slipped to 494 from 497 the previous year -- the first time the new section's scores were released. Taken together, the scores are the lowest of the decade so far.
SCORES SLIP

The College Board says the latest group of test takers was the largest and most diverse ever, which may be reflected in the lower average scores. Wayne Camara, the College Board's vice president for research and analysis, said that even so, the decline was "not statistically significant."

But a number of educators, college-admissions experts and students say the scores reflect deeper problems with the test itself. A revised test was introduced in March 2005, which added more algebra and reading passages and a new section that tests writing skills. And some testing experts say the reason for the drop is simple: The new test is harder and too long.

"The new test was designed to be more challenging," says Seppy Basili, senior vice president at Kaplan Inc., the test prep concern owned by Washington Post Co. The inclusion of material from advanced algebra is "a serious concern for some students," he says, some of whom don't reach the material until their junior year.

Level of Attention
The revisions to the test also added 45 minutes to the length. "It is a problem," says Scott White, director of guidance at Montclair High School, Montclair, N.J. "There is no way on earth a kid can test for nearly four hours and have the same level of attention and acuity as with a three-hour test."

Andrew Bennett-Jackson, a senior at Montclair, says he found his "focus really go down" toward the end of the exam, which he took over the summer. He scored a 1610 out of a possible 2400. He plans on trying the ACT, a rival admissions test accepted by a growing number of schools, in the fall. One big plus: The ACT's writing section is optional, which makes it shorter for students who just want to retake the other two sections. "It just makes the test a little bit easier," Mr. Bennett-Jackson says.

Math scores in the SAT have for the most part risen over the past decade, peaking at 520 in 2005 before starting a downward trend along with the new test. By comparison, reading scores have remained relatively steady in the low 500s in that period.

Past Problems
The College Board has been subject to a range of criticism over the revised test, in addition to the concerns about length. Some critics have objected to the subjective nature of scoring a written exam. And last year, the College Board took some blows after about 4,400 students were wrongly scored too low. Last week, the board announced a settlement in which it and NCS Pearson Inc., which scanned the answer sheets, will pay $2.85 million to the test takers and their lawyers.

In recent years, a number of schools have moved away from requiring the test. Still, the test is enormously influential and is taken by many students headed to elite, competitive schools.

Laurence Bunin, senior vice president for operations at the College Board, says that this year, the College Board is "absolutely confident in the scores."

Mr. White and other guidance counselors have asked the College Board to consider allowing students to retake the exam section by section. James Montoya, a College Board vice president, says, "That approach is not one we are giving further consideration to at this time." He added, though, that the board is looking at ways to shorten the "test day" experience, for instance by streamlining some of the administrative components.
IN DEPTH

Dismissing Criticism
The College Board dismissed criticism that the test is harder, saying the new test was carefully constructed for its math and reading sections to be comparable with those sections before the revisions. For instance, while some subjects, such as advanced algebra were introduced, others, such as word analogies, were eliminated. Officials also say that research done last year showed no difference in student performance at the beginning, middle and end of the test.

The College Board pointed out that a record number of students took the test in the most recent year: 1.5 million, up 2% from the previous year. It added that minority students made up a record 39% of test takers. The class of 2007 also reflects the nation's growing immigrant population: Nearly a quarter of test takers didn't list English as their only first language, up from 17% 10 years earlier.

'Deeper into the Pool'
The overall increase in test takers may be bringing the average down, the College Board says. Maine, for instance, now requires all high-school students to take the SAT, pointed out Mr. Bunin.

Mr. Basili of Kaplan says, "When you're increasing participation, you're going to decrease scores" since it means "reaching deeper into the pool to students that would normally not be going to college."

Results by Income
Among the surprises in the results: The test takers reported as being among the wealthiest were one of the groups that saw the biggest declines. Students with family incomes of more than $100,000 saw declines in all three sections combined of 19 points from the previous year's scores. By contrast, the only income group that actually saw increases were those with reported incomes between $10,000 and $20,000. In that group, there were increases in all three sections totaling 21 points.

College Board officials say the data aren't very reliable because students report their perceptions of what their parents make. And over one-third of students didn't answer the question.