Take out a piece of paper.Typical SAT Question How many non-overlapping spaces can you cut the SHADED space of the donut into with just 2 straight lines? Give a number. Cooperate for 1 minute.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline///shows/sats/test/solve.html

Modern Plan to identify a “Natural Aristocracy”put forth by James Bryant Conant President of Harvard in the 1930**

Conant reads Jefferson’s 1813 letter to John Adams about the natural aristocracy, the idea becomes the centerpiece of Conant’s thinking. (Lemann, 42)

He orders the creation of the SAT, establishes ETS, changes college admissions

Early Scholarship RecipientJames Tobin, of Champaign ILNobel Prize in Economics 1981

I was born in Champaign in 1918. From the neighborhood elementary and intermediate schools, I went to the University High School.

University High School prepared me exceptionally well for Harvard, even though neither the school nor I ever thought that midwestern teen-agers might go to a prestigious expensive eastern college a thousand miles away. I happily took for granted that I would attend the very good local university and probably go on to its law school. Harvard was my father's idea.

By chance, President James B. Conant of Harvard was just then inaugurating national full-cost scholarships designed to diversify the geographical, scholastic, and social sources of the student body, and he was starting with the midwestern states.

All this my father learned because he habitually read the New York Times in the public library. So, I wrote in June three days of entrance exams for which I had neither received nor made any special preparation. I learned the amazing good news in August, and in September 1935, on the train to Boston, I left the midwest for the first time.

What does the SAT measure?

How well does the SAT work for social engineering of the “natural aristocracy”?

What does the SAT actually do?

SAT TODAY What are some of the main concerns about SAT scores? One concern is “Differences in scores by group have persisted.” WHAT CAUSES THESE DIFFERENCES?WHAT CAN EDUCATORS AND POLICY MAKERS DO TO EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD?

Gender Males score higher than

females But females have

higher grades in high school and college

*Class *Family education *Urban and rural students

* Race/Ethnicity Asians score higher than

whites in math Since 1970s Minority

students score lower than white students

2005 SAT AveragesVerbal Math

Males 513 538 Females505 504

Influences scores +++ higher Influences scores ----lower

Asian 511 580 White 532 536 AA 433 431 Hispanic 463 469

What are the results of the SAT nationally?

http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2005/links.htmlArchived SAT DATA

2005 Tables and Related Items

Location: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2005/table17-mean-SAT-scores.pdf

Parental Education: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2005/graph15-2005-mean-SAT-scores.pdf

Race/Etnicity: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2005/graph10-mean-SAT-scores.pdf

CHARTS CONNECTED TO RACE/ETHNICITY, GENDER, URBAN VS. RUAL VS. SUBURBAN, PARENTAL EDUCATION

CONCERN How well does the SAT work for social engineering of the “natural aristocracy”? What does the SAT actually do?

The SAT I is validated for just one purpose: predicting first-year college grades.

The correlation between college grades and SAT scores is approximately r = .42. This value indicates a moderate positive relationship. In other words, students who have higher SAT scores tend to do acceptable work in college.

What other factors also contribute significantly to your success in college?

SAT is

A standardized test A high stakes test A test that shows consistent results over the years with certain

demographic groups A test that favors those who have good testing skills and some

preparation in testing. Outcomes reflect the quality of K-12 schooling experiences

Deserves some scrutiny about its uses for college admissions.

What is CONANT’S UTOPIAN IDEAL?

1. Elite colleges to serve the most talented-needed methods of identification and scholarships.

2. Elites would come from all classes and geographical areas– a kind of “classless” society. What did Conant mean?

3. Scholarship students would do public service

Target Group for ConantMost academically talented—Aptituderather than achievement-a natural intelligence.

Who should we choose for UIUC?A wide range of students are successful at UIUC—band, music, athletes, scholarship students, rural and urban students--

What measures college ability? Among these, what measures potential best?

ACT, SAT CLASS RANK GPA

TYPE OF COURSES TAKEN IN High School –honors, AP EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIESSPECIAL TALENTS

UIUC 21,000 applicants for 7,000 slots Berkeley 30,000 for 3,500

“Illinois is a diverse state, and we are trying to reflect the demographics of the state of Illinois as best we can” (Marshall, UI Associate Provost)

SAT scores of UIUC students 2007 FreshmanRANGE OF SCORES

SAT Score of UIUC Freshman 1400-1600 20% 1200-1399 52% 1000-1199 25% 999 or below 3%

ACT 30-36 33% 24-29 54%, 18-23 12% <17 1%

The Big Test:The Secret History of the SATObsession--crowds out other indicators

Nicholas Lemann: Can you prepare to take the SAT and raise your score? “10 million Frenchmen can’t be wrong” No good studies on test preparation.

ETS argues that test preparation classes only raise scores an average of about 25

points.

Kaplan claims preparation classes raise scores an average of 125-150 points. No impartial studies