Talkin' trash to the garbage around me.

10 May, 2006

SAT scores dropping

From the WaPo:
Several colleges and universities are reporting significant declines in average scores on the new SAT test, leading many high school counselors and college admissions officers to conclude that the longer exam is wearing out test takers and hurting their performance.
Or, kidz could be gittin' stoopeder.

Seriously, though:
[Charles A. Deacon, dean of admissions at Georgetown University] said his own study of the old and new tests suggests the drop may be explained by more emphasis on reading in the new test, which has for years gotten lower scores than writing.
My question is: does reading comprehension vary across media, that is between, say, reading a print newspaper or an on-line source? If so, is the drop in reading scores related to a print-based bias in the SAT?

These are the things that occupy my mind for, oh... minutes.