He said
The SAT reading and writing scores have hit an all-time low in 2012, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's time to panic.
There are some explanations that may cover the dip more thoroughly than suggesting American students just ain't reading as good as they used to. It's been pointed out that more people wrote the test than ever before, many of whom are coming from homes in which they will be the first person in the family to have attended university, depending on how well they did on the test.
There were also a high percentage of people taking the test for which English is their second language. It's unclear whether these people were doing better than their English-speaking American counterparts. If that were the case, then it would be time to hit the panic button. Everyone should stop waiting for Superman because he ain't coming.
There is probably no reason for panic, but there may be a case made for a change to the test. It was noted that some ESL students would do better in the vocabulary section with an oral exam.
Maybe that should be an option.
Of course, when they arrive on campus, they'll be expected to write essays rather than submitting them verbally via mp3 file. Perhaps the verbal test would simply be setting students up for failure later on.
In general, standardized tests have often come under fire for not being a good measure of a student's knowledge. The SAT may be relied upon heavily for schools in the United States, but institutions in other countries get by accepting students without the use of an all-encompassing test.
General post-secondary programs accept students based purely on grades, while specialized ones may have other requirements of the applicant, like submitting a portfolio or writing an essay. There may be better ways of measuring a student's worth outside of the SAT.
She said
I'm having a tough time with this one, and I think it's because I'm biased. I like the SAT as it currently exists, because I liked it when I wrote it four years ago.
To break it up, the SAT is three parts, two of which focus on English and the third dedicated to math. I'm sure it's pretty obvious which of the categories I excelled in, and which dragged my grade down.
My favourite section dealt with vocabulary. I read a lot, which has led me to picking up a few words throughout my life. Vocabulary is easy. You read a word, learn what it means, learn how to use it in context and then use it appropriately. There's no formula to memorize. There's no number-letter combination that makes no sense. English words to an English-speaking person make the most sense to me, and so I did well in the vocabulary section. Way better than I did in the math section, which I'm sure I barely passed (I'm sure this doesn't surprise any of my high school math teachers).
I'd hate to see the SAT change because this year's exams had the lowest ever vocabulary scores. I just find that disappointing, and an incentive to keep vocab as a component. I acknowledge that the test was taken by a record number of students for whom English is a second language, but I don't really consider that an excuse. The SAT is a test to get into an English speaking school in an English speaking country. There's nothing dated or unreasonable about expecting all students to have a firm grasp of the language before being accepted into university.
As well, there are there English-skilled students like me who need the English scores to balance out the dismal math scores. Taking away the vocabulary would be punishment as far as I'm concerned.
