Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What does the SAT really measure?

Hello,

Our local public high school has class size of about 250, and this year had 15 NMSF, which is typical for the school (strong district). This is 6% of the population, which is above average. Looks like nationally (see in the quotes below), 1% of PSAT-takers become semi-finalists (3% are recognized, including the letters of commendation). So for a class size of 75, I guess it would be "average" to have 2 semi-finalists every 3 years, but a couple of letters-of-commendation-winners each year.

"Of the 1.5 million entrants, about 50,000 qualify for recognition. More than two-thirds of those qualified receive Letters of Commendation; about a third of the 50,000 become Semifinalists, about 94% of whom go on to become Finalists. Over half of the Finalists are selected to receive scholarships underwritten by corporations and business organizations, colleges and universities, and by NMSC with its own funds".

I agree that with the advent of massive test-prep, tutors, classes, taking the test multiple times, etc, the true meaning of the results are more questionable than ever, but agree with all the posters who say that it is crazy for the school to discount the SATS.....whether or not they really are a true indicator of anything important, they certainly matter!!

Additionally, while I don't want to think that a lot of school time is spent "teaching to the test", there are lots of important parts of the SAT. On the verbal portion, for example, vocabulary is a critical part. Who doesn't think that developing a rich vocabulary is an important part of education?

So I think you (OP) are right to question the administration when they downplay the SAT. It's not the end-all-be-all, but it does matter. (But I also agree that I'm sure YOUR children will do great if it's the right environment for them!!!).