Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Major Changes in SAT Announced by College Board

Precisely-- the way that most schools HERE get around it is to build fluff courses that nominally have Algebra I as a "prerequisite" for the class...

(now, that's all done with a wink and nudge, since my DD took one of those classes just because the subject matter interested her, but it was NOTHING like "requiring" algebra I skills-- or, for that matter, pre-algebra ones).


So there is still very definitely a shell game happening there. It's just that two years PAST algebra I is a state requirement, and in smaller schools, that effectively means "algebra II" or a modified diploma (intended for SpEd students), since they lack the resources to teach both Algebra II and geometry as well as those made-up courses that appear to meet the terms of the state's requirements without, you know, actually being threshing machines for the less mathematically able students.

The upshot is that while the state doesn't say that algebra II is a required course, what it does require pretty much means that it is; unless schools play games with courses that are merely fluff with exalted titles and faux prerequisites. I'm pretty sure that DoE isn't actually checking for content level.

If I'm guessing right as to what state you are in. Quick google search shows there exists a "waiver" a parents can sign that allows a student to replace Algebra II with another math class "if it fits the students educational goals". So there is a way for a H.S. to slip in class of 'business math' for the non college bound students if the schools wants to go through the hassle.

IMO I would rather non college bound kids know their basic math WELL up to Algebra I well. And then take a class that teaches them math that everyone needs to function as an adult in the world, like how compound interest works, understanding how a loan works, some simple probability, how to balance your checkbook. Some of this requires Algebra II topics but doesn't need an entire Algebra II course.

My state also wants ALL high school graduates to go to college. Stated goal, that. Go ahead, ponder that for a moment...

Interesting. Is it planning to pay tuition for every student, and increase the size of the state university system to match the number of high school graduates?

Or just decrease the pool of graduates?

Or just... fail, and blame the kids' ambition?

Oh, of course not. This is one of The Very Important Big Ideas. For The Future of our State.

Our capacity is currently only enough for about 35% (including the private colleges) of our K-12 system's annual graduates. So "where would they all GO to college anyway" has definitely been asked, let's just say.

The powers that be don't say anything at all in response to THOSE questions... which, interestingly enough, plenty of well-educated people HAVE, in point of fact, been asking, particularly as "pay it forward" initiatives have been floated as a means of not introducing such overt forms of debt servitude upon my DD's generation and those behind her. Of course, wage garnishment sort of seems to be the same thing to me, but nobody has been saying that either.

The U.S. Department of Education's 15-page document, "Race to the Top Program Executive Summary", dated November 2009, and available online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf, may be of interest.

The document mentions that standards are not stand-alone when it states, "... developing a rollout plan for the standards together with all of their supporting components;" (emphasis added). Interested parents may read the document for information on "all of their supporting components".

The same document also states: "... in cooperation with the State’s institutions of higher education, aligning high school exit criteria and college entrance requirements with the new standards and assessments;" (emphasis added). This seems to indicate no distinction between the skills/abilities used to define high school graduation and the skills/abilities used to define college entrance requirements at State institutions of higher education.

While some may see these statements as positives and others may see them as potentially "dumbing-down" higher education, few may question the credibility of the source.

None of this is actually factual. These are common misconceptions you see quoted on Facebook and in blogs that are myths.

The common core doesn't prescribe particular texts or particular passages to be read, and certainly doesn't suggest that students read only or mainly excerpts. The standards do contain SAMPLE texts which are excerpts, but these are meant only to help teachers better gauge the level of material indicated by particular standards.

Also, the ELA standards account for much of the dread "instructional text" to be read in non-ELA classes (like science or social studies).

I think this essay makes an important point: the College Board is making big changes in the SAT without any evidence that the new test will better predict success in college.

http://isteve.blogspot.com/2014/04/sat-new-test-hasnt-been-tested.html
SAT: The new test hasn't been tested
by Steve Sailer
April 16, 2014

Looking through the couple hundreds pages of verbiage that the College Board has released about their revisions to the SAT, I haven't found any evidence that they've tested the new test they've announced. It wouldn't be terribly hard to carry out research to see what kind of questions predict college performance best, but they don't seem to have done any research whatsoever involving potential questions. They've conducted various market research studies (focus groups, surveys, etc.) of what various people say they want in the SAT, but they have done nothing to see if what they've announced will actually work.

There's an amusing irony here: the SAT is a test used to predict how individuals do. But, as for predicting how the predictor is going to work, well, we'll just have to wing it. This strikes me as fundamentally irresponsible -- nearly a couple of million kids per year take the SAT -- but all too typical of contemporary elites in America.

...

I'm not sure of how much testing they have done on the new SAT, but there clearly has been some. Talk to any kid who took a recent SAT (say January or March), and they'll tell you that the experimental section was weird. The questions were nothing like the current SAT questions.

I think that smart kids will still do well on the SAT, and not-so-smart kids will continue to perform poorly on the SAT. The math questions look like they are critical thinking type questions. The kid that struggles to understand a basic textbook algebra problem will not do well. A preliminary look at the new SAT math can be found here:

http://pwnthesat.com/wp/2014/04/dig...-section-first-impressions/#.U0_BN1cvmDQ

For a tutor's take on the new essay,take a look here:

http://thecriticalreader.com/blog/item/400-sentence-completions-out-founding-documents-in.html

And we'll get some insight into the new SAT test/scoring scale when the HS Class of 2017 takes their junior year PSAT in the fall of 2015 - it will be the new SAT format.

Some are reading common core STANDARDS only, others are reading and taking into account "all of their supporting components" (as described by the U.S. Department of Education's 15-page document, "Race to the Top Program Executive Summary", dated November 2009, and available online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf.)

The document mentions that standards are not stand-alone when it states, "... developing a rollout plan for the standards together with all of their supporting components;" (emphasis added). Interested parents may read the document for information on "all of their supporting components".

Shift in assessments and shifts in curriculum are prescribed.

For example, changes in the SAT (topic of this thread) may support "... aligning high school exit criteria and college entrance requirements with the new standards and assessments".

The shifts in curriculum including emphasizing shorter texts and passages, and the statements 'The Common Core State Standards require a greater focus on informational text in elementary school...'and "The standards call for elementary curriculum materials to be recalibrated to reflect a mix of 50 percent literary and 50 percent informational text" are found in the various publisher's criteria links here and here, which were found by following links from the official CCSS page here. These are not myths.

Please keep in mind that the changes in the SAT are intended to be responsive to the changes in schooling due to following common core.

The publisher's criteria reminds us: "Reading well means gaining the maximum insight or knowledge possible from each source." Interested parents may wish to read the common core links well.

Some may find this comforting, others may find this to be scope creep or tentacles of common core moving beyond the agreed-upon ELA and Math to encompass every subject. Interested parents may wish to see the information in the FAQs on the common core website (http://www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions) which includes links to:
- Science standards being developed (http://www.nextgenscience.org/),
- World Language standards being developed (http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Aligning_CCSS_Language_Standards_v6.pdf)
- Art standards being developed (http://www.arteducators.org/news/national-coalition-for-core-arts-standards-nccas) broken link