SAT Testing
Testing for our colleges
Many Parents and educators are telling kids who are entering college, to drop the pencil and don’t take the standardized test. Educators say using an SAT or ACT for an admissions test is biased and unfair to ethnic minorities. Also gender differences and socioeconomic status plays a role on if you get a better score on these test or not. In my research I will show that there are similarities within ethnic and gender differences and women are vastly approaching males scores on these tests. But I will also briefly touch on the subject of income and how having more money makes you have a better score.
If we were to take a look at the gender differences in education and the outcomes within the ethnic groups we would better understand the differences in educational achievement and opportunity. Gender differences within racial and ethnic lines revealed far more similarities than differences. Test scores did not differ that much from one ethnic group to another. You can see from the 2000 College Bound Seniors test scores: SAT
Total Test-Takers: 1,260,278, of whom 53.7% are female Verbal Math Total
Ethnic Group
American Indian or Alaskan Native 482 481 963
Asian, Asian Amer., or Pacific Islander 499 565 1064
African American or Black 434 426 860
Mexican or Mexican American 453 460 913
Puerto Rican 456 451 907
Other Hispanic or Latino 461 467 928
White 528 530 1058
Captain James Cook and his crew came to Hawaii in 1778. Bringing along many diseases such as, syphilis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis.(Blaisdell, p.44) Native Hawaiians were not immune to these diseases, they were unable to be cured therefore died and a massive depopulation occurred. An estimated 500,000 Hawaiians were living in Hawaii before Western Contact, and in 1878 less than 45,000 Hawaiians remained.(Trask, p.10). With the rapid decrease of Hawaiians, also came the fact that their culture was in danger.
Vars, F. E., & Bowen, W. G. (1998). Scholastic aptitude test scores, race, and academic performance in selective colleges and universities. (In Jencks, C. & Phillips, M. (Eds.), The Black-White Test Score Gap (pp. 55-85). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution
In both works, each character has a significant struggle they have to deal with, which motivates them to acquire a positive outcome. The prevalence of each character wanting to control their lives to avoid the possibility of failure ironically becomes the catalyst of each character’s eventual downfall. Willy Loman, for the majority of his life, has tried to obtain prosperity in a capitalistic nation in order to live the American dream. Oedipus, a seemingly noble king, who, like any good king, tries to free...
The SAT's have sometimes been the deciding factor when determining a student's admission to a certain college, but recently colleges have stopped regarding SAT scores as the most important factor, and in some cases, colleges are now not even requiring applicants to submit their scores. This change in significance of the SAT's is due to recent controversy over the fairness of the test. According to Fair Test (2001) three hundred and eighty-eight schools do not require applicants to submit their SAT scores, and hundreds more do not place much emphasis on the scores. Because of the recent controversy and the number of schools not looking at or de-emphasizing the SAT's, the College Board, (the company in charge of designing, administering, and grading the test), has decided to make several changes to the format of the SAT's (which was just revised in 1994). These changes will take effect in the year 2005.
Today students go to school from K-12 earning their education and take a standardized test during their junior or senior years (sometimes sophomore year). The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and other standardized test are used by colleges across the world to determine if a student is ready for college. As a result, there are some individuals that disagree with the use of standardized testi...
Standardized testing is a type of test usually serve to determine how well you understand a concept which is often used for placement. These types of test include questions in a form of an essay, short answers, multiple choices, or a combination of these together and are given out as early as in kindergarten. This practice has been used for so long that it has become a part of the American culture. Every year, high school juniors and seniors worldwide take the SAT or the ACT in the hope that they score high enough to get into their dream school. However, there has been a lot of ongoing debates revolving around the idea of the use of standardized testing in college admission and the whether or not they are effective in determining a student’s
Since elementary school, students have been sharpening their No. 2 pencils, preparing to fill in the bubbles on their standardized tests. To younger children, these tests aren’t a very big deal. But little do they know that the tests they take in elementary school are practice for the biggest test they will take in their lives. This test is the ACT, or the SAT. These tests are a huge deal. Students’ results on these tests could change their plans for the future, and that’s a lot of pressure. So are these tests really all that they are made out to be? Are they really that important enough to stress about so much? Many people have started to say that standardized tests are hurting American schools, and that they put too much pressure on students.
However, some generalizations can be made to help provide culturally competent care to this group of people. One of the most significant factors of culture for Pacific Islanders is family. Family help care for each other and the family should be included in health care decisions. Health is viewed as being in balance and harmony, and illness viewed as an imbalance. Prayer is important aspect of health and healing. Traditionally, in the Pacific Islander culture having a very large body was a sign of health, wealth, and prestige. Just like many cultures food is used in ceremonies and social function. Certain foods are associated with the ethnic identity of the Pacific Islander cultures, these include: breadfruit, green bananas, yams, fruit, fish and coconuts to name a few (Sobralske, 2006, p.
Nowadays, colleges and universities have been using the SAT to select their students who apply to them. According to College Board, the SAT is a test that measures students' abilities which they will use to be able to do well in universities or colleges. In addition, the SAT shows how well the students solve the problems and how well the education they have gotten. The SAT consists of ten sections which consist of one 25-minute essay section, two 25-minute and one 20-minute math problem sections, four 25-minute, one 20-minute, and one 10-minute English problem sections. Therefore, the total time to do all the sections is three hours and forty-five minutes ("SAT Reasoning Test").
Many oppose the newly revised SAT that will be published in 2016, and proclaim that there will be many benefits for a large amount of students because it won’t be as stressful or time consuming as the old SAT. They strongly stand firm in their beliefs that lowering the standards will prevent high school students from achieving a greater score on the SAT. Some say that the revision of the SAT will be beneficial towards the students because it can “now write about their experiences and opinions, with no penalty for incorrect insertions”, on their essays (David Coleman). Many are happy that the revised SAT is moving towards the direction of achievement, rather than aptitude because it was made “to make the test to reflect more closely what high school students did in high school” (Tamar Lewin). Many people are being misled because they don’t know enough information to know that there are many consequences when it comes to the SAT being redesigned.
In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at first, to learn of the existence of Deaf culture. To me deafness is not a defect but a source of connection. Imagine yourself deaf, growing up with a beautiful language, visual literature, humor, and theater. Imagine taking pride in your identity without any desire to become a member of the majority culture. For many deaf people, their community is a comforting relief from the isolation and condescension of the hearing world. However the Deaf community is far more than a support group for people who share a physical characteristic. Members of the Deaf community may have hearing levels that range from profoundly deaf to slightly hard-of-hearing. But no members of the Deaf community are "hearing impaired." Inside this community, deaf people become Deaf, proudly capitalizing their culture. Hearing people suddenly find that they are handicapped: "Deaf-impaired."
For Oedipus, prophecy is not the main source of his fall towards society; rather, his hubris blinds himself from recognizing his personal sin in the world, thus leading to his demise. Sophocles even skillfully uses a metaphor through the words “ as led by a guide” to further explain the “supernatural being” that ultimately decides the tragic fate of the family of Oedipus. In addition, through the death of Jocasta, the reader is immediately attuned of Oedipus’ raging moment of violence and will be petrified by the overwhelming power of the gods, thus realizing the importance of being cautious before making a final choice. Indeed, after an individual settles on a decision, the gods take control of the person’s fate, hurling numerous consequences to him if he makes the wrong decision. Moreover, as Oedipus suddenly becomes the unintended victim of the gods through his sinful decision to execute Laius, he is forced to relinquish his predominate impetus for pridefulness in exchange for a heart of deep realization and forgiveness. At the end of the play, Oedipus sacrifices everything in order to remove his guilt through the consequences of his atrocious actions witnessed by the gods. After Oedipus realizes the astringent fate he was destined to encounter through his sinful murder of Laius, he immediately attempts to take responsibility for his
“The Tests Don’t Measure Achievement Adequately.” The Myths of Standardized Test: Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do. N.p.: Hoover Institution, 2011. 33-45.
The need for an indicator of academic preparation and college placement yielded the American College Testing. Since the early 1900’s, standardized college admission test has been the forefront of getting into college. Student success in college has used standardized testing as an effective tool for predicting success. Various studies have shown the importance of ACT testing as being a reliable source in predicting a student’s success. However, other studies have shown the lack of importance and ineffective indicators that come with standardized testing. Examining the history, research studies, pros and the cons of the standardized testing will conclude of why some colleges and post-secondary education systems are moving away from this type of testing just as they adopted it.
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.