In addition to the in-school teach to the test problem the focus on SAT and ACT tests for college admissions is also a really big problem. For the kids lucky enough to consider college, the fact remains that parents can throw money at SAT test preparation and get test score improvements in the 100 point range and more. I know because I have done this.
When I took the SAT in 1970 no one got assistance via test preparation. Now it is, or so it seems mandatory to top the charts with test scores.
Colleges look to raise their selectiveness rating by admitting higher and higher SAT (and ACT) test scores. The net affect is that for those that don't know or can't afford test preparation classes, they have lower scores than they might otherwise and the assumption is they have less choice in college admission.
I work at a University that plays the selective SAT game but also is starting to talk about if there are other ways of serving those that can succeed in college but might not get the scores that we strive for in our admits.
I think after 9 years of working in higher education and being a parent of a college grad and high school senior I think it is fair to say that both K12 public schools and institutions of higher education need some radical reinvention. I just hope I live long enough to see it come to happen.
Based on your experience working in higher education, would you say that the SAT in its current form is as effective a test as the version you took in the 1970's?
My perception is that scores have become more correlated with money spent on test preparation, and less correlated with actual aptitude.
So I don't work directly with the admissions process (I run the public web) but as a parent I see the correlation with money spent. Also I've had conversations with the SAT preparation consultant that we used for both girls and the degree to which preparation classes or one-on-one consultation helps is dramatic at least at her firm. I know this to be true because of the feedback from other parents that we recommended.
The funny thing is that one of the highest correlations with college retention, as compared to just getting admitted, is how the student feels when the visit the campus. If they feel like they will fit it they have a much higher retention rate.
Because of this colleges track visits to their campus for campus tours and some factor that in at least when courting the prospects.
In the early 70s, we had some level of SAT preparation including the pre-SATs (forget what they were called). However, my impression is that standardized testing prep has certainly increased--as has the level of competition to get into top schools.
One of the problems with de-emphasizing standard tests for college admissions is that they do a pretty good job at predicting college success (assuming that's your goal). Unfortunately the things you'd probably like to emphasize more (like interviews or other qualitative factors) seem to have pretty bad predictive value for just about anything.
(And this is hardly unique to college admissions; cue any of the discussions here about hiring processes.)
One of the problems with de-emphasizing standard tests for college admissions is that they do a pretty good job at predicting college success
Maybe. The SAT has become so watered down that the ACT, which MIT didn't accept back when I was playing this game in the late '70s, now has more predictive power for success at MIT.
When I took the SAT in 1970 no one got assistance via test preparation. Now it is, or so it seems mandatory to top the charts with test scores.
Colleges look to raise their selectiveness rating by admitting higher and higher SAT (and ACT) test scores. The net affect is that for those that don't know or can't afford test preparation classes, they have lower scores than they might otherwise and the assumption is they have less choice in college admission.
I work at a University that plays the selective SAT game but also is starting to talk about if there are other ways of serving those that can succeed in college but might not get the scores that we strive for in our admits.
I think after 9 years of working in higher education and being a parent of a college grad and high school senior I think it is fair to say that both K12 public schools and institutions of higher education need some radical reinvention. I just hope I live long enough to see it come to happen.