Carey Dillinger, September, 1995
The Daily Commercial
The recent publication of the latest aggregate Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for Lake County schools should bring to mind the words of Mark Twain, which we will paraphrase here: "first there are lies, then there are dirty rotten lies, then there are statistics." Statistics, properly applied, can be a great help in many areas of life. Whether you are planning the next great American sales campaign, tracking sports opponent's offensive and defensive tendencies, taking out a home mortgage, or making any large consumer purchase, statistics are your friend. However, when misused, statistics can cast undeserved aspersions towards those who have little or no control over the outcome of the events in question.
The SAT is prepared by the College Entrance Examination Board, a private test making company. Included in the administration packet of the SAT is a pamphlet entitled Guidelines on the Uses of the College Board Test Scores and Related Data. Contained within this document are some pertinent comments concerning the proper uses and interpretations of the aggregate results that some local commentators are choosing to ignore. Perhaps it would be wise to let the people who constructed the test tell us how we can properly apply the scores.
"As measures of developed verbal and mathematical abilities important for success in college, SAT scores are useful in making decisions about individual students and assessing their academic preparation." The key word here is "individual." Each student's score needs to be interpreted for that student. The colleges that demand a score from the SAT have a goal for each student to reach and the college could not care less whether the Lake County average for 1995 is above, below, or even equal to the state average.
Can we use the SAT scores to rank teachers and schools? The C.E.E.B. cautions, "Using these scores in aggregate form as a single measure to rank or rate teachers, educational institutions, districts, or states is invalid because it does not include all students. In being incomplete, this use is inherently unfair."
What are some of the reasons that Lake County is experiencing a decline in our aggregate scores? "In general, the higher the percentage of students taking the test, the lower the average scores. In some states a very small percentage of college bound seniors take the SAT. Typically, these students have strong academic backgrounds and are applicants to the nation's most selective colleges and scholarship programs. Therefore, it is to be expected that the SAT verbal and mathematical averages reported for these states will be higher than the national average. In states where a greater proportion of students with a wide range of academic backgrounds take the SAT, and where most colleges in the state require the test for admission, the scores are closer to the national average." Would you care to guess which category applies to our situation?
You might speculate that SAT scores are strictly a result of academic courses taken, but research does not confirm this thinking. "Other factors variously related to performance on the SAT include...family background and education of parents." A recent survey conducted by Wertheimer and Gibson, using the standardized test results of 45 Central Florida high schools, elaborates on these two areas. "The richer the students, the better they tend to do on standardized tests." The more the students move, the more likely they are to perform poorly. The number of Advanced Placement (A.P.) offerings also affects aggregate scores. Schools where a large number of parents keep up with homework assignments, projects and general school activities have higher aggregate scores.
Obviously, the school system has no control over two of the three factors mentioned. The public schools must teach the students that live in their districts. They cannot recruit students with rich, educated parents. As far as academic course offerings are concerned, Lake County schools offer the requisite courses to prepare students for the SAT. These include Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and the required English courses. Additionally, some high schools are offering a one semester SAT preparation course.
The means of obtaining the proper preparation to gain an acceptable SAT score is available to all Lake County high school students. The problem is that many students are not prepared for the preparation! It is impossible to pass the Algebras without a firm background in arithmetic. It is doubtful that someone will be able to comprehend ninth grade English if they did not comprehend the prerequisite course work in grades K8.
Should the SAT only be taken by those who are prepared to master it? This would certainly raise aggregate scores and make the statistics appear more favorable to the local commentators, but it would be doing an ultimate disservice to individual students with aspirations of a college education that are not ready. The current policy in most high schools is to encourage anyone who even thinks they might go to college to take the SAT as soon as possible. Then this first score can be used to council the student as to what further preparations need to be made. The C.E.E.B. offers the Preliminary SAT to tenth and eleventh graders so they can practice an SAT-like examination without contributing to the negative statistics caused by unprepared students taking the SAT.
It is the responsibility of the schools, with the cooperation of the students and their parents to make sure that each individual student is informed about the purpose and importance of these tests. The schools must publish the testing dates, costs and testing sites. Parents must encourage their children to pursue their education to the highest level of their ability and force them to read to improve their vocabulary (verbal skills) and force them take their arithmetic lessons seriously so they can successfully complete Algebra and Geometry (math skills). The SAT is not a test that you can cram for the night before. Students must realize that the time to prepare for the SAT is now.
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