Click to set custom HTML
In 1926, 80,040 college applicants became the very first in the world to take what at the time was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test. It was an adaption of an old military test used during World War II, the “Army Alpha” and also inspired by IQ tests. This multiple choice test, was later renamed Scholastic Assessment Test, and even later just called the “SAT”. It has gone on in the decades to shape the American education system and determine the future for millions of students. It remains a critical and hotly contested component of the lives of every ambitious high schooler. It is seen by many as the gatekeeper to college and the American-dream future, and by others as a pointless, stress-inducing measurement of nothing more than how well a kid can take a test. But what is the SAT really? How did a little military test, created on a whim, become so powerful in our society? And, most importantly, what do test results really say about students, and what do they mean for that student’s future? The junior class of High Tech High International decided to find out.
Back in the mid-20s, Carl Brigham, a young psychologist working with the military at the time of the creation of the Army Alpha test, was intrigued by the concept of a standardized intelligence test. His first version of the SAT was only experimental until in 1933, when James Bryan Conant (the new president of Harvard University), got hold of it. Conant felt that admittance to Harvard shouldn’t just be restricted to graduates of expensive East Coast prep schools, so he decided to use the SAT test to find students from other schools in other parts of the country who would do well at Harvard. So originally, the SAT was meant to level the playing field a little bit (although Harvard and the test itself was only open to white males at the time). Over time, the test was tweaked and adjusted continuously: subject tests were added in 1937, students were allowed to see their scores in 1958, and calculators were first allowed in 1994, in addition to dozens of other changes. More and more schools started using it, until finally in 1977 it became a nationwide exam. In 2009, some 1.55 million students took the test all around the world. The test had grown in use and importance far beyond what Carl Brigham could have imagined.
An entire industry has grown around this test. Hundreds of thousands of students pay companies for test prep every year. Some students start taking SAT classes early in middle school, paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars over the years for a shot at a higher score. They feel this test will give them a shot at their dream colleges, a shot at the bright future they’d been assured was just around the corner, if only they made the grade. This begs the question of how deeply involved special interests are, and whether or not a price is being put on education or success in America. If, as it is commonly believed, these expensive prep courses really do all that they claim to do (and they do claim: a 30-second internet search yields dozens of promises: StudyPoint, for their 30-hour in-home course, has a “guaranteed” 200-point minimum increase in scores, PrepMe says that the average improvement in the scores of its 30,000 “happy students around the world” is 305 points, and the list goes on and on), then the difference between “passing” and “failing” the test can come down to money. It becomes reliant on who can afford the classes and who can’t. This sort of system is somewhat contradictory to the American idea that success is achievable for everyone, regardless of means or beginnings.
Furthermore, it has been well documented that race and gender play a role in SAT scores. In 2009, for example, the average score for Asian Americans taking the test was 1623, while the average African American student’s score was 1276. The first tests of 2012 saw a similar disparity, with Asian students’ scores averaging 1641 and black students’ scores averaging 1273. The gap between races is only widening as time goes on. Furthermore, in 2009, more than half (53.5%, to be exact) of the test takers were girls, but their average score of 1496 was 27 points lower than the average male’s score of 1523. “We’re thinking about this thing in the wrong way, as some objective, uncontaminated measure of academic merit,” says Claude Steele, professor of social psychology at Stanford University. Professor Steele has spent many years trying to figure out why students of certain demographics perform in certain ways on high-stakes tests such as the SAT, and in 1999 he came up with the theory of “stereotype threat”. In one experiment, he administered a standardized test, much like the SAT, to two groups of white and black students. The first group was told that the test was unimportant, while the second was told that the test accurately measured their abilities. In the first group, students of both races tested exactly the same, but in the second group, where students were worrying about being judged, the black students tested much, much worse than their white classmates. “…if you are a member of a group whose intellectual abilities are negatively stereotyped…the negative stereotype…will be applicable to you right in the middle of a standardized test, an important standardized test. And our general reasoning was, well, that maybe this threat, this prospect of confirming a stereotype or being seen that way, would be distracting enough, upsetting enough, to undermine a person's performance right there in the middle of a test.” Steele has also conducted similar experiments with two groups of students of various races, where one group is told that a particular race typically does better on the test. His results were the same: if people worry about stereotypes during a test, it actually makes their test scores significantly lower. Even worse, it seems that the better the student is in regular academics, the worse the worrying affects the SAT scores. “What we're finding,” says Steele, “is poor performance among people who are almost trying too hard…It becomes clear that that underperformance is no mystery. It's amazing it isn't worse than it is.”
So, returning to the earlier questions: What do the SAT test results say about a student? What role, exactly, do they play in a student’s future, from their college acceptances to their scholarship potential? Here at HTHI, we juniors often hear the seniors talking about the test and their scores: how they need to improve to go where they want to, study, how they’re so happy it all paid off, how the night before was so stressful, how waiting for the scores is torture… Most of us have only taken the PSAT and the PPSAT (The Pre-SAT no dry run: it is used in determining eligibility for scholarships. It’s the Pre-Pre-SAT that, in theory, “doesn’t count”). SAT scores actually turn out to be very important to acceptances. All of the UCs, for example, are required to base 50% of their admissions off of school grades and SAT scores. The average scores of students admitted to Ivy League schools are very, very high, unattainable for most (they generally range from the high 600s to perfect 800s on the individual portions). Yes, that means that other factors are considered, but there is an undue amount of weight given to tests that are so clearly flawed. Additionally, most academic scholarships require students to have high SAT scores. For example, the Carolina Scholars Award, available to residents in both North and South Carolina, not-so-subtly mentions in its online description that “last year's candidates presented an average SAT score of 1491 on critical reading and math sections combined.” The NROTC Scholarship Program, sponsored by the Navy, requires minimum SAT scores in the subjects of Math and Reading. Even Le Courdon Bleu, a prestigious network of culinary schools, offers scholarships based on SAT scores. The SAT is treated by many people as a fair and objective measure of academic ability and success, when in reality it is not. When it comes to scholarship opportunities, the SAT is unfortunately ironic: while high SAT scores are essential to obtain scholarships, those scores can be raised and changed through expensive test prep. The playing field is not so level after all.
Looking forward to both short and long term futures, it seems that the SAT will either be changed, drastically reduced in importance, or even diminished, largely because of growing public discontent with the test. While it is intended to act as an equalizer between students from different locations and schools, is not an accurate measure of a student’s academic success. This being a fact that is recognized by more and more people. At this point, however, the Junior Class of HTHI is still going to take the SAT. The importance of the scores, while skewed in perception, is still undeniable. This makes the test itself, while widely believed to be unfair, still relevant and a requirement to many of our lives. That’s why we are also learning about effective testing and study habits as a part of our class. The “SAT Tips” section of this website offers a multitude of tips, ranging from how to eat and sleep before the test to how to answer the mathematical multiple choice questions in a variety of scenarios. We hope you find these tips, as well as our concept cheat sheets, interesting and useful as you too, try to beat the test.
Spanish Translation
By: Luis Felipe Vetter
En 1926, 80,040 estudiantes universitarios se convirtieron en los primeros del mundo en tomar en lo que en aquel tiempo se llamaba “Scholastic Aptitude Test.” Fue adaptado de un Viejo examen militar que se uso durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el “Army Alpha” y también fue inspirado por los IQ exámenes. Este examen de opción múltiple, con el tiempo fue nombrado “Scholastic Assesment Test”, y después fue nombrado como ahora lo conocemos como el “SAT”. A sido recorrido durante las ultimas décadas para formar el sistema educativo Americano y para determinar el futuro de millones de estudiantes. Sigue siendo muy criticado por los miles de estudiantes aplicando para la Universidad. Por muchos es visto como el camino al sueno Americano, mientras otros critican que no tiene sentido, y nadamas crea estres hacia los aplicantes, y no puede determinar las capacidades de cada estudiante atravez de un examen. Pero que es el SAT en verdad? Como un pequeño examen militar se pudo convertir en algo tan poderoso hacia nuestra sociedad? Y mas importante, que pueden decir unos resultados de un examen sobre las capacidades del estudiante, y que significan para el futuro de el estudiante? La clase (Junior) de High Tech High International decidió encontrar las razones.
En los anos vientes, Carl Brigham, un joven sicólogo que trabajaba para el servicio militar, en el tiempo de la creación del Army Alpa Test. Fue introducido con el concepto de un examen standarderizado. Su primera visión del SAT fue solo experimental, hasta el ano 1933, cuando James Bryan Conant, el Nuevo presidente de la Universidad de Harvard, tomo riendas del SAT. Conant sintió que la admicion para la Universidad de Harvard no debería ser nada mas para los estudiantes ricos del lado este de las escuelas con dinero, entonces por eso tomo la decisión de usar el SAT para poder darle la oportunidad a otros estudiantes alrededor del mundo, y darles la oportunidad de atender a la Universidad de Harvard. El SAT entonces nomas fue usado para equilibrar la igualdad a otros estudiantes que quisieran aplicar a esta Universidad. Con el tiempo, el examen fue ajustado continuamente: examines de gramática fueron añadidos en el ano 1937, los estudiantes fueron dejados ver sus resultados en el ano 1958, calculadoras fueron aceptadas en 1994, y docenas de otros cambios. Mas y mas escuelas comenzaron a usar el SAT, hasta que finalmente en 1977 se convirtió en un examen nacional. En el 2009, alrededor de 1.55 millones de estudiantes alrededor del mundo realizaron el examen. El examen había crecido en uso, y en importancia mas de lo que algún día había imaginado Carl Bringham.
Toda una industria ah crecido alrededor del examen. Cientos de miles de estudiantes pagan a las compañías para el pre examen cada ano. Algunos estudiantes hasta empiezan a tomar SAT clases en secundaria, pagando cientos de dolares, hasta miles, para poder tener un resultado mas alto. La gente siente que este examen les puede dar una oportunidad a sus universidades deciadas, la oportunidad de un futuro brillante esperando alrededor de la esquina si fueran a obtener ese resultado. Esto regresa a la pregunta, que tan envueltos están sus intereses personales en el precio en la educación, o éxito en América. Como es común mente pensado, que estas caras clases prep en verdad pueden garantizar un mínimo de 200 puntos de incrementancion en los resultados.
Durante los anos del SAT se ha documentado que toman en parte las entidades de las personas. Por ejemplo en el 2009 el promedio de resultados para los asiáticos fue de 1623, mientras el promedio de los Africanos Americanos fue de 1276. Los primeros examines del 2012 se vio una similiridad en los promedios, con los Asiáticos fue un promedio de 1641 y los estudiantes negros con un promedio de 1273. El espacio entre las razas se esta hacienda mayor con el tiempo. En el 2009, mas del (53%) para ser exactos, que tomaron el examen fueron mujeres, pero sus resultados vario en 1496 que termino siendo 27 puntos menos que el promedio de los hombres (1523). Este tipo de sistema al parecer esta contra diciendo el sueno “Americano”, que la meta de cualquier persona puede ser conseguida, sin escusas de principios.
Bueno, regresando a las preguntas anteriores: Que dicen del estudiante los resultados conseguidos en el SAT? Que motivo juegan en el futuro del estudiante, desde las Universidades y las becas siendo aplicadas? Aquí en HTHI, nosotros los Juniors continuamente escuchamos a los Seniors hablando sobre el examen y sus resultados; y mas que nada lo satisfecho que están por poder conseguir o una beca, o simplemente conseguir una buena Universidad a la cual atender.
Viendo hacia adelante, así como al futuro que esta a la vuelta de la esquina, y al que viene en un par de anos, parece que el SAT va hacer cambiado or extremadamente cambiado. Esto sucederá por todos los estudiantes estresados, y como el examen no puede determinar todas las cualidades de cada aplicante atravez de un resultado en un examen. Pero hasta este punto, nuestra clase Junior de HTHI así como todas las otras HTH seguimos con el propósito de tomarlo. Esperamos que todos los tips dados durante toda este reporte sea de ayuda, y todas la “Cheat Sheets” ubicadas en esta línea web, y esperamos que logren el mejor resultado posible.
Back in the mid-20s, Carl Brigham, a young psychologist working with the military at the time of the creation of the Army Alpha test, was intrigued by the concept of a standardized intelligence test. His first version of the SAT was only experimental until in 1933, when James Bryan Conant (the new president of Harvard University), got hold of it. Conant felt that admittance to Harvard shouldn’t just be restricted to graduates of expensive East Coast prep schools, so he decided to use the SAT test to find students from other schools in other parts of the country who would do well at Harvard. So originally, the SAT was meant to level the playing field a little bit (although Harvard and the test itself was only open to white males at the time). Over time, the test was tweaked and adjusted continuously: subject tests were added in 1937, students were allowed to see their scores in 1958, and calculators were first allowed in 1994, in addition to dozens of other changes. More and more schools started using it, until finally in 1977 it became a nationwide exam. In 2009, some 1.55 million students took the test all around the world. The test had grown in use and importance far beyond what Carl Brigham could have imagined.
An entire industry has grown around this test. Hundreds of thousands of students pay companies for test prep every year. Some students start taking SAT classes early in middle school, paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars over the years for a shot at a higher score. They feel this test will give them a shot at their dream colleges, a shot at the bright future they’d been assured was just around the corner, if only they made the grade. This begs the question of how deeply involved special interests are, and whether or not a price is being put on education or success in America. If, as it is commonly believed, these expensive prep courses really do all that they claim to do (and they do claim: a 30-second internet search yields dozens of promises: StudyPoint, for their 30-hour in-home course, has a “guaranteed” 200-point minimum increase in scores, PrepMe says that the average improvement in the scores of its 30,000 “happy students around the world” is 305 points, and the list goes on and on), then the difference between “passing” and “failing” the test can come down to money. It becomes reliant on who can afford the classes and who can’t. This sort of system is somewhat contradictory to the American idea that success is achievable for everyone, regardless of means or beginnings.
Furthermore, it has been well documented that race and gender play a role in SAT scores. In 2009, for example, the average score for Asian Americans taking the test was 1623, while the average African American student’s score was 1276. The first tests of 2012 saw a similar disparity, with Asian students’ scores averaging 1641 and black students’ scores averaging 1273. The gap between races is only widening as time goes on. Furthermore, in 2009, more than half (53.5%, to be exact) of the test takers were girls, but their average score of 1496 was 27 points lower than the average male’s score of 1523. “We’re thinking about this thing in the wrong way, as some objective, uncontaminated measure of academic merit,” says Claude Steele, professor of social psychology at Stanford University. Professor Steele has spent many years trying to figure out why students of certain demographics perform in certain ways on high-stakes tests such as the SAT, and in 1999 he came up with the theory of “stereotype threat”. In one experiment, he administered a standardized test, much like the SAT, to two groups of white and black students. The first group was told that the test was unimportant, while the second was told that the test accurately measured their abilities. In the first group, students of both races tested exactly the same, but in the second group, where students were worrying about being judged, the black students tested much, much worse than their white classmates. “…if you are a member of a group whose intellectual abilities are negatively stereotyped…the negative stereotype…will be applicable to you right in the middle of a standardized test, an important standardized test. And our general reasoning was, well, that maybe this threat, this prospect of confirming a stereotype or being seen that way, would be distracting enough, upsetting enough, to undermine a person's performance right there in the middle of a test.” Steele has also conducted similar experiments with two groups of students of various races, where one group is told that a particular race typically does better on the test. His results were the same: if people worry about stereotypes during a test, it actually makes their test scores significantly lower. Even worse, it seems that the better the student is in regular academics, the worse the worrying affects the SAT scores. “What we're finding,” says Steele, “is poor performance among people who are almost trying too hard…It becomes clear that that underperformance is no mystery. It's amazing it isn't worse than it is.”
So, returning to the earlier questions: What do the SAT test results say about a student? What role, exactly, do they play in a student’s future, from their college acceptances to their scholarship potential? Here at HTHI, we juniors often hear the seniors talking about the test and their scores: how they need to improve to go where they want to, study, how they’re so happy it all paid off, how the night before was so stressful, how waiting for the scores is torture… Most of us have only taken the PSAT and the PPSAT (The Pre-SAT no dry run: it is used in determining eligibility for scholarships. It’s the Pre-Pre-SAT that, in theory, “doesn’t count”). SAT scores actually turn out to be very important to acceptances. All of the UCs, for example, are required to base 50% of their admissions off of school grades and SAT scores. The average scores of students admitted to Ivy League schools are very, very high, unattainable for most (they generally range from the high 600s to perfect 800s on the individual portions). Yes, that means that other factors are considered, but there is an undue amount of weight given to tests that are so clearly flawed. Additionally, most academic scholarships require students to have high SAT scores. For example, the Carolina Scholars Award, available to residents in both North and South Carolina, not-so-subtly mentions in its online description that “last year's candidates presented an average SAT score of 1491 on critical reading and math sections combined.” The NROTC Scholarship Program, sponsored by the Navy, requires minimum SAT scores in the subjects of Math and Reading. Even Le Courdon Bleu, a prestigious network of culinary schools, offers scholarships based on SAT scores. The SAT is treated by many people as a fair and objective measure of academic ability and success, when in reality it is not. When it comes to scholarship opportunities, the SAT is unfortunately ironic: while high SAT scores are essential to obtain scholarships, those scores can be raised and changed through expensive test prep. The playing field is not so level after all.
Looking forward to both short and long term futures, it seems that the SAT will either be changed, drastically reduced in importance, or even diminished, largely because of growing public discontent with the test. While it is intended to act as an equalizer between students from different locations and schools, is not an accurate measure of a student’s academic success. This being a fact that is recognized by more and more people. At this point, however, the Junior Class of HTHI is still going to take the SAT. The importance of the scores, while skewed in perception, is still undeniable. This makes the test itself, while widely believed to be unfair, still relevant and a requirement to many of our lives. That’s why we are also learning about effective testing and study habits as a part of our class. The “SAT Tips” section of this website offers a multitude of tips, ranging from how to eat and sleep before the test to how to answer the mathematical multiple choice questions in a variety of scenarios. We hope you find these tips, as well as our concept cheat sheets, interesting and useful as you too, try to beat the test.
Spanish Translation
By: Luis Felipe Vetter
En 1926, 80,040 estudiantes universitarios se convirtieron en los primeros del mundo en tomar en lo que en aquel tiempo se llamaba “Scholastic Aptitude Test.” Fue adaptado de un Viejo examen militar que se uso durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el “Army Alpha” y también fue inspirado por los IQ exámenes. Este examen de opción múltiple, con el tiempo fue nombrado “Scholastic Assesment Test”, y después fue nombrado como ahora lo conocemos como el “SAT”. A sido recorrido durante las ultimas décadas para formar el sistema educativo Americano y para determinar el futuro de millones de estudiantes. Sigue siendo muy criticado por los miles de estudiantes aplicando para la Universidad. Por muchos es visto como el camino al sueno Americano, mientras otros critican que no tiene sentido, y nadamas crea estres hacia los aplicantes, y no puede determinar las capacidades de cada estudiante atravez de un examen. Pero que es el SAT en verdad? Como un pequeño examen militar se pudo convertir en algo tan poderoso hacia nuestra sociedad? Y mas importante, que pueden decir unos resultados de un examen sobre las capacidades del estudiante, y que significan para el futuro de el estudiante? La clase (Junior) de High Tech High International decidió encontrar las razones.
En los anos vientes, Carl Brigham, un joven sicólogo que trabajaba para el servicio militar, en el tiempo de la creación del Army Alpa Test. Fue introducido con el concepto de un examen standarderizado. Su primera visión del SAT fue solo experimental, hasta el ano 1933, cuando James Bryan Conant, el Nuevo presidente de la Universidad de Harvard, tomo riendas del SAT. Conant sintió que la admicion para la Universidad de Harvard no debería ser nada mas para los estudiantes ricos del lado este de las escuelas con dinero, entonces por eso tomo la decisión de usar el SAT para poder darle la oportunidad a otros estudiantes alrededor del mundo, y darles la oportunidad de atender a la Universidad de Harvard. El SAT entonces nomas fue usado para equilibrar la igualdad a otros estudiantes que quisieran aplicar a esta Universidad. Con el tiempo, el examen fue ajustado continuamente: examines de gramática fueron añadidos en el ano 1937, los estudiantes fueron dejados ver sus resultados en el ano 1958, calculadoras fueron aceptadas en 1994, y docenas de otros cambios. Mas y mas escuelas comenzaron a usar el SAT, hasta que finalmente en 1977 se convirtió en un examen nacional. En el 2009, alrededor de 1.55 millones de estudiantes alrededor del mundo realizaron el examen. El examen había crecido en uso, y en importancia mas de lo que algún día había imaginado Carl Bringham.
Toda una industria ah crecido alrededor del examen. Cientos de miles de estudiantes pagan a las compañías para el pre examen cada ano. Algunos estudiantes hasta empiezan a tomar SAT clases en secundaria, pagando cientos de dolares, hasta miles, para poder tener un resultado mas alto. La gente siente que este examen les puede dar una oportunidad a sus universidades deciadas, la oportunidad de un futuro brillante esperando alrededor de la esquina si fueran a obtener ese resultado. Esto regresa a la pregunta, que tan envueltos están sus intereses personales en el precio en la educación, o éxito en América. Como es común mente pensado, que estas caras clases prep en verdad pueden garantizar un mínimo de 200 puntos de incrementancion en los resultados.
Durante los anos del SAT se ha documentado que toman en parte las entidades de las personas. Por ejemplo en el 2009 el promedio de resultados para los asiáticos fue de 1623, mientras el promedio de los Africanos Americanos fue de 1276. Los primeros examines del 2012 se vio una similiridad en los promedios, con los Asiáticos fue un promedio de 1641 y los estudiantes negros con un promedio de 1273. El espacio entre las razas se esta hacienda mayor con el tiempo. En el 2009, mas del (53%) para ser exactos, que tomaron el examen fueron mujeres, pero sus resultados vario en 1496 que termino siendo 27 puntos menos que el promedio de los hombres (1523). Este tipo de sistema al parecer esta contra diciendo el sueno “Americano”, que la meta de cualquier persona puede ser conseguida, sin escusas de principios.
Bueno, regresando a las preguntas anteriores: Que dicen del estudiante los resultados conseguidos en el SAT? Que motivo juegan en el futuro del estudiante, desde las Universidades y las becas siendo aplicadas? Aquí en HTHI, nosotros los Juniors continuamente escuchamos a los Seniors hablando sobre el examen y sus resultados; y mas que nada lo satisfecho que están por poder conseguir o una beca, o simplemente conseguir una buena Universidad a la cual atender.
Viendo hacia adelante, así como al futuro que esta a la vuelta de la esquina, y al que viene en un par de anos, parece que el SAT va hacer cambiado or extremadamente cambiado. Esto sucederá por todos los estudiantes estresados, y como el examen no puede determinar todas las cualidades de cada aplicante atravez de un resultado en un examen. Pero hasta este punto, nuestra clase Junior de HTHI así como todas las otras HTH seguimos con el propósito de tomarlo. Esperamos que todos los tips dados durante toda este reporte sea de ayuda, y todas la “Cheat Sheets” ubicadas en esta línea web, y esperamos que logren el mejor resultado posible.
Written By Cameron Ishee
Edited By Rebecca Kawamoto
Translated by Felipe Vetter
Edited By Rebecca Kawamoto
Translated by Felipe Vetter