UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 7, Page 9
October 14, 1993
SAT now 'assessment' test

     The new SAT, renamed the Scholastic Assessment Tests instead of the
Scholastic Aptitude Test, has received attention from the national press
and from high school students, who are flocking to PSAT and SAT prep
courses.
     Just how far-reaching are these changes? According to James Crouse,
professor of educational studies and a critic of the SAT as a criterion for
college admissions, the changes are cosmetic and more to do with marketing
than substance. Crouse and Dale Trusheim, associate director of
institutional research and planning, co-authored The Case Against the SAT,
published in 1988, and several articles since then.
     The name of the test was changed because the word "apptitude"
suggested the test was measuring inate intelligence, Crouse said. The SAT
now stands for Scholastic Assessment Tests I and II. SAT I is the former
Scholastic Aptitude Test, which tests verbal and math skills. The new SAT
II includes the former achievement tests, which measure knowledge in
different areas such as biology and English. The SAT II achievement tests
are not as widely used as the SAT I for admission requirements.
     Both the SAT I and SAT II, as well as final examinations in advanced
placement courses, are given by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
     There are minor changes in SAT I, Crouse said. The antonym section of
the verbal section SAT has been dropped, students may use calculators, and
not all the math problems are multiple choice. But overall the test is
basically the same.
     Crouse said he the SAT I is not an invalid test, but that when
colleges use it in addition to the high school rescord, only a few
admission decisions are changed, and those that are changed are not
improved. Most admission decisions are based on high school records, and
admissions offices can make them no better by also considering the SAT,
Crouse said.
     "Dana Keller, a doctoral student in education, Dale Trusheim and I
have amassed considerable data showing that the SAT does not benefit the
University's admissions process," Crouse said.
     He said he considers the SAT II tests, which test knowledge of a
specific field, more valid and would like to see these tests used more
widely.
     Bruce Walker, associate provost for admissions and financial aid, said
that the admissions office requires that prospective students take the SAT
and finds the the test a useful tool in predicting student success in
college. High school records are given more weight than the SAT in the
University's admissions process, he said.
     Walker said he feels a national yardstick and assessment of how
students are performing at high schools across the country is important.
Although the changes in the new SAT are not enormous, he said, they are a
first step in the right direction to test achievement.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure