Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[StephanieVanbryce]

".. Intelligent design .." ..? ..Scores for expanded SAT show largest dip since 1975

Updated 8/29/2006 11:22 PM ET
By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY

National average scores for the SAT college entrance exam fell 7 points — the biggest drop in 31 years — for the high school class of 2006, the first to take the new version of the test.
The number of test-takers also was down by about 9,600 students, to 1.47 million. Participation rates particularly fell among students who said they were low-income. Meanwhile, more students reported family incomes of $80,000 or more.

ON DEADLINE: Find out how your state did, other SAT facts.... this ...

SAT scores take biggest drop in 31 years
The press release announcing the SAT scores for the class of '06 begins on a positive note. The head of the College Board says he's pleased about rolling out the new writing portion of the test. But the facts sprint downhill from there.

In short, the class of '06 makes the class of '05 look pretty good. The class of '06 also makes the class of '76 look good. Not since the class of 1975 have the scores taken such a large drop compared to the year before, the Associated Press points out. "The average critical reading score fell from 508 to 503, while math dropped from 520 to 518. On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average, with girls scoring 11 points higher than boys."

The College Board chief attributes the drop to the addition of the writing section in this year's test, not blaming the writing section but saying any major change in a test also changes "test-taking behavior." Research points to fewer students retaking the test and "gaining the advantage of a score increase," the press release says, not fatigue.

You can read the College Board's 2006 national and state-by-state reports online, as well as reports dating back to the mid-'90s.

The press release also has tidbits on how students handled the new writing section. Looking at a random sampling, the Board finds essays written in the first-person scored lower than essays that weren't. Essays written in cursive also get better scores than printed essays, the choice of 85% of students.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-08-29-sat-scores_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA