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| David Coleman says the College Board’s mission goes beyond measuring and testing to “designing high-quality curriculum.” |
Showing posts with label SAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SAT. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
“We have a crisis in education" said Coleman who takes over as President of the College Board in October
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Ready or Not - SAT for Eighth Graders
The New York Times
By Jacque Steinberg
FOR those parents and school administrators who believe it is never too early for students to begin preparing for the PSAT and SAT, the College Board has begun offering a junior version of its marquee college-entrance exams — this one specifically for eighth graders.
Called ReadiStep, the two-hour test has questions written in the same style as the PSAT and SAT and a similar marking system: scores range from 2 to 8, which aligns roughly with the 20 to 80 they will someday receive on the PSAT, and the 200 to 800 on the SAT.
About a quarter-million eighth graders have taken ReadiStep since it was introduced last fall. The overwhelming majority are in Texas, where the state education department has offered to cover the cost of the exam — $8 per pupil — as part of a statewide college readiness program.
ReadiStep is designed to be very similar to the PSAT and SAT, which is also the qualifying exam for National Merit scholarships. It is essentially a learning tool. It’s intended to help schools and districts improve their curricula and instructional practices. Read More
I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!
Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com
Sunday, March 20, 2011
SAT essay about 'Reality TV' causes anxiety
The New York Times
A question on the 'Big Test' appears to have provoked some anxious texting, online comment streams and discussion threads — it was an essay prompt in some versions of the SAT administered last week in which students were asked to address reality television.
“This is one of those moments when I wish I actually watched TV,” one test-taker wrote .... then less than a minute later, a fellow test-taker identified as “krndandaman” responded: “I don’t watch tv at all so it was hard for me. I have no interest in reality tv shows...” The commenter ended the post with the symbol for a frowning face.
By Wednesday, comments on the now-infamous prompt — which included the question, “How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?” — had stretched across nearly 40 pages on College Confidential. Media coverage added to the scrutiny.
Angela Garcia, executive director of the SAT program, said she did not think it was unfair to ask that question of students who had neither the time nor inclination to watch Mike Sorrentino on “Jersey Shore,” or Kim Kardashian on “Kourtney & Kim Take New York. The primary goal of the essay prompt is to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their writing skills,” she said.
This particular prompt, Ms. Garcia said, was intended to be relevant and to engage students, and had gone through extensive pre-testing with students and teachers. “It’s really about pop culture as a reference point that they would certainly have an opinion on,” she added.
“I talked about American Idol (how it can push people to strive towards better singing skills) and The Biggest Loser (how it influences people to become healthier,)” one commenter, “bandgeek156,” wrote on College Confidential. “Wasn’t that hard from what I thought.”
I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!
Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com
Friday, January 14, 2011
French University Joins College Board
The New York Times
PARIS — The Institut d’Etudes Politiques, better known as Sciences Po, one of France’s most prestigious universities, has become the first French public institution to join the College Board, the nonprofit American organization that oversees the SAT exam and Advanced Placement program.
As a new member of the College Board, Sciences Po, which specializes in humanities and social sciences, will be better able to recruit students in North America and beyond. “Our American students often came from French high schools,” said Peter Gumbel, who runs the Center for the Americas at Sciences Po, “so now, it makes us more visible among the rest of the American population.”
The students from Sciences Po will also benefit from a large network of high school counselors, who will help them in their education plans.
The College Board, which was founded in 1900, has about 5,900 members, a majority of which are based in the United States. In addition to its testing operations, the College Board runs programs that seek to increase achievement by poor and minority middle and high school students.
Sciences Po has a total of 9,600 students. The university also offers dual degrees with American universities like Columbia, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern.
I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!
Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
If you don’t know the answer, then guess.
The New York Times
Leave No Bubble blank
Come May, the next sitting for Advanced Placement exams, the College Board is switching to right-only scoring: each correct answer counts; no deductions for wrong ones. By guessing, you have a 20 or 25 percent chance of getting it right, depending on the number of answer choices.
The new scoring mirrors other standardized tests, except the SAT. A wrong answer there comes with a 0.25-point deduction. The College Board, which owns both tests, is changing only A.P.
Psychometricians advised that right-only scoring would simplify year-to-year comparisons as new exams are phased in, according to Trevor Packer, vice president responsible for Advanced Placement.
I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!
Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com
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