Overreacting to the SAT score drop
So I read in The Examiner that the SAT score average for the county has dropped for each of the sections that make up the test. The writer chose to print interviews with two people about the issue. Don Morrison is a given, since he is a spokesperson for the Board of Education. But the second interviewee has me scratching my head. Kelsey Volkmann interviewed Cindy Mumby, vice president of the Parent Teachers Association at Bel Air High Senior School. Mrs. Mumby’s reaction to the lower scores was as follows:
“As a parent, this is very disconcerting, because these tests are the
gateway to higher education”, “I
can’t imagine something more important for the college-bound senior."“The test has changed but that’s not new this year,” she said. “I
understand there is an effort under way for more students to take the
SAT and that is laudable, but we should not fall back on that to
explain the drop.”
Let me preface that this is not an attack on Mrs. Mumby. Being a member, and especially an officer, of your school’s PTA is noble. But why was she chosen to be interviewed? Bel Air High School has the highest average SAT score in the county. How do we know Bel Air High scores didn’t rise? Wouldn’t that be a better subject to ask a vice president of an individual school’s PTA?
And why is everybody freaking out over a one year dip of around 1.5%? 123 more students took the test this year compared with the previous year. It’s not an excuse when saying that having that many more students taking the test is the reason scores went down a small percentage. Maybe there were more first-time SAT takers this year than last? Would that be a better excuse?
The SAT is a test given to an individual to test their aptitude and readiness for college. It is not tied to a school’s performance like the stats assessment tests. If you want to be better prepared for it, you buy books and study, or pay for classes outside the county’s curriculum. It is not mandatory, and shouldn’t be. Believe it or not, every student in the county is not destined for college.
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