| 2008 SAT SCORES TELL THE TALE |
|
|
|
| by Donna Garner | Mon, Sep 22, 2008, 11:12 AM |
|
I have been waiting for three years for someone in the media to take the time to applaud the ambitious efforts of the College Board in 2006 to try to move our nation's schools back to the teaching of English grammar and usage.
If reporters say anything at all about the way the "new" SAT is organized, they never seem to mention the fact that the Writing section has two sub-scores, one of which tests students' English grammar and usage knowledge. In fact, that sub-score (49 multiple-choice grammar and usage questions) is worth 70% of the Writing score; the essay only counts 30%. The College Board took one more very ambitious step when it conducted and then published its research report on June 18, 2008 (http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/197359.html). This report proves that the best predictor of college success for freshmen is how well students did on the SAT Writing section. (The Writing score was even a better predictor than the Math or Critical Reading scores.) Since 70% of the Writing score comes from grammar and usage, then obviously the best predictor of college success is how well students know their English grammar and usage. Up until this year, the overall SAT Writing score has been the only score listed by the College Board in their yearly reports; and the two Writing sub-scores have not been publicized. However, this year (Graduating Class of 2008) the College Board published for the first time a breakdown of each state's two sub-scores under the SAT Writing section: (1) 49 multiple-choice grammar/usage questions (2) the essay. Now the public can find out how well the seniors in their state did on the grammar and usage part of the SAT and also on the essay. The College Board refers to the score on the 49 multiple-choice grammar and usage questions as "MC." The national report (SAT Graduating Class of 2008, Total Group Profile Report) indicates that the multiple-choice grammar and usage (MC) score is 49.5, and the average essay score is 7.1 (http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Total_Group_Report.pdf). To compare a state's scores with these national averages on the Writing section, people need to go to http://professionals.collegeboard.com:80/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2008, and click on the individual state report that they want to read. For instance, if people want to see the After accessing the state profile report, then people need to scroll down to Page 1, Table 1, Overall Mean Scores. COMPARISON OF SAT SCORES - 2006, 2007, 2008 The Writing score contains two subgroups: (1) Essay and (2) Multiple-Choice Grammar/Usage (MC). Number of states with higher MC scores (all students) than Texas: 36 states (2006) -- 40 states (2007) -- 42 states (2008) Number of states with higher essay scores (all students) than Texas: 43 states (2006) -- 41 states (2007) -- 43 states (2008) AVERAGES National - MC - all students - 50 (2006) -- 49.5 (2007) - 49.5 (2008) Texas - MC - all students - 49 (2006) -- 48.6 (2007) -- 48.5 (2008) National - MC - public schools - 49 (2006) -- 48.9 (2007) -- 48.9 (2008) Texas - MC - public schools - 49 (2006) -- 48.2 (2007) -- 48.1 (2008) National - MC - non-public schools - 52 (2006) -- 52.7 (2007) - 51.5 (2008) Texas - MC - non-public schools - 52 (2006) -- 52.2 (2007) -- 53.7 (2008) National - Essay - all students - 7.3 (2006) -- 7.3 (2007) - 7.1 (2008) Texas - Essay - all students - 7.0 (2006) -- 7.0 (2007) - 6.8 (2008) National - Essay - public schools - 7.2 (2006) -- 7.2 (2007) - 7.1 (2008) Texas - Essay - public schools - 7.0 (2006) -- 6.9 (2007) - 6.7 (2008) National - Essay - non-public schools - 7.5 (2006) -- 7.6 (2007) - 7.3 (2008) Texas - Essay - non-public schools - 7.3 (2006) -- 7.4 (2007) - 7.5 (2008) Composite score (essay and MC) -- National (all students) -- 497 (2006) -- 494 (2007) -- 494 (2008) Composite score (essay and MC) -- Texas (all students) -- 487 (2006) -- 482 (2007) -- 480 (2008) CRITICAL READING National average (all students) - 503 (2006) -- 502 (2007) -- 502 (2008) Texas average (all students) - 491 (2006) -- 492 (2007) -- 488 (2008) National average (public schools) - 500 (2006) -- 498 (2007) -- 497 (2008) Texas average (public schools) - 487 (2006) -- 487 (2007) -- 484 (2008) National average (non-public schools) -- NA (2006) -- 520 (2007) -- 517 (2008) Texas average (non-public schools) -- NA (2006) -- 528 (2007) -- 542 (2008) [Upon request, this information was furnished to Donna Garner on 9.11.08 by Andrew Wiley, Executive Director, Research & Analysis, the College Board, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you should want to see the spreadsheet of the SAT 2008 results from all states, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .]
Bookmark
Email This
Comments (1)
 Write comment
|
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
