Helping First-Generation Students Confront the SAT - A Work in Progress

Jay Rosner, Executive Director

The Princeton Review Foundation

NPEA Conference

April 8, 2010Copyright © 2010 Jay Rosner

Princeton Review Foundation,a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

• National Partnerships – HBCUs, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, College Horizons, KIPP Schools, NABC, etc.

• SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, GMAT & MCAT• Presentations & workshops at conferences & for

admissions staffs & high school faculty• Advice to students in disputes with ETS /ACT• Test critic for 20+ years, ETS litigation• Advocacy – U. Michigan Law School case

4-Year College Admissions vs. “College Prep” High School Budgets

ExtraCur

SAT/ACT

GPA(academics)

ExtraCur

SAT/ACT

GPA(academics)

4-Year College Admissions:

Application “Weights”Typical “College Prep”

High School Expenditures

For Students: Jay’s Opinion ofWhat The SAT Measures

• How intelligent you are? No.

• How well you’ll do in college? No. (only helps somewhat in FY GPA)

• How good you are on SAT? YES !

If you have a high test score, it just means that you’re good at the test. And, that’s all.

• Can you improve your score?YES! Here’s what you need to do …

Presentation to Students:What is “Preparing Intensively?”

Prep minimums (course or self-study):• 1.5 - 2 hours per day, of high-quality practice• 5-6 days per week• for 5-6 weeks, right up to the official test• 4-5 practice tests, spaced out properly.

Less risks a lower-than-your-best score.What I say to HS students …

KIPP High Schools

11 KIPP public, open-enrollment high schools (also 55 middle schools, 16 elementary schools):

• 80% free & reduced lunch• Rural and urban, Latino & African American• Workshops for high school faculty & staffSome successes (two rurals, one urban): • all 44 of first Gaston, NC class in college• 23 seniors in Helena, AK beat ACT average• KIPP Houston HS: 16th best in U.S. News list

Strategy: an energized SAT/ACT environmentTactics:• SAT/ACT prep similar to wealthy kids• Faculty & staff awareness-to-support • Test as an adversary, faculty & staff are allies

(Boston Arts Academy)• Sports analogies for performance – score

points, stay in the game• Not cheerleading, but rising to the challenge• “Secret” technique – getting others to take test

Leveraging Faculty to Motivate Kids

• We’re a team, test as adversary, cohort effect• Take control of the test – do the questions in

the order best for you• Example: 2-pass (or 3-pass) reading comp.

technique• Skipping questions (come back if time)• Note – not available on CATs (GRE)

Tactics for Empowering Kids

SAT/ACT Free Throw Analogy

• SAT : Academia :: FT Shooting : Basketball• SAT & FT Shooting: contrived, artificial, static,

solitary, PREDICTABLE, limited context & skills w/mechanistic approach, confidence & psych factors

• Academia & Basketball: complex, dynamic, broad open-ended skill set w/creativity, messy like life

• Improvement: Virtually everyone (Shaq?) can improve with practice and some expert instruction

• Moral - SAT and academia are significantly disconnected; different skills are involved (Shaq!)

Male/Female SAT Comparisons, with a Focus on Math

• Pretesting: questions are “tried out” in the variable (unscored) SAT section, and then selected or rejected.

• Male preference question: the percentage of males answering correctly (say, 62%) is higher than that of females (55%).

• Female preference question: the opposite, the female percentage is higher.

The “Three Digit” Question:Male or Female Preference?

4K8

3 = m

6. In the equation above, K is a digit in the three-digit number 4K8, and m is a positive integer. Which of the following could be the digit K? (A) 1(B) 3(C) 4 (D) 5(E) 7

Source: Oct. 2000 SAT, Sec. 1, #6

The “Three Digit” Question:Female Preference, 88% to 87%

4K8

3 = m

6. In the equation above, K is a digit in the three-digit number 4K8, and m is a positive integer. Which of the following could be the digit K? (A) 1(B) 3 (Correct Answer)(C) 4 (D) 5(E) 7

Source: Oct. 2000 SAT, Sec. 1, #6

Male/Female Math Analysis of 2 SAT Data Sets: Oct.,1998 & 2000

• 60 math questions per test, 2 tests:

120 questions

• Query: How many male preference questions? Female preference questions? (Hints: 3 are no-pref. questions, and boys outscore girls)

• The number of female preference questions out of 117 others is:

1 question

• The number of male preference questions out of 117 is:

116 questions

Distribution of Male/Female Gaps inOct. 1998 and Oct. 2000 Data Sets

.

0123456789

-1% 2% 5% 8% 11% 14% 17%

2000 SAT

1998 SAT

# of ques-tions

% gap in questions

Comments?

The “security blanket” Question: White or Mex. Am. Preference?

7. At bedtime the security blanket served the child as _______ with seemingly magical powers to ward off frightening phantasms.

(A) an arsenal (B) an incentive (C) a talisman (D) a trademark (E) a harbinger

Source: Oct. 2000 SAT, question #7, section 2

The “security blanket” Question is a Mex. Am. Pref. Question

7. At bedtime the security blanket served the child as _______ with seemingly magical powers to ward off frightening phantasms.

(A) an arsenal (B) an incentive (C) a talisman

(D) a trademark (E) a harbinger

Source: Oct. 2000 SAT, question #7, section 2

49% of Mex. Ams. and 46% of whites (3% gap)

got this correct

White/Mex. Am. Analysis of 2 SATs: October, 1998 and October, 2000

• 60 math & 78 verbal questions per test (138 total), 2 tests:

276 questions

• Query: How many Mex. Am. preference questions? White preference questions? (ETS folks are liberals.)

• The number of Mex. Am. preference questions out of 276 is:

1 question(Another one-hitter!)

• The number of white preference questions out of 276 is:

274 questions

Distribution of White/Mex Am Gaps inOct. 1998 and Oct. 2000 Data Sets

.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

-3% 3% 6% 9% 12% 15% 18% 21% 24%

# of ques-tions

% gap in questions

The “actor’s bearing” Question:White or Black Preference?

The actor’s bearing on stage seemed _____; her movements were natural and her technique _____ .

(A) unremitting … blase(B) fluid … tentative(C) unstudied … uncontrived(D) eclectic … uniform(E) grandiose … controlled

Source: Wall St. Journal, citing ETS

The “actor’s bearing” Question:Black Preference, with an 8 % Gap

The actor’s bearing on stage seemed _____; her movements were natural and her technique _____ .

(A) unremitting … blase(B) fluid … tentative(C) unstudied … uncontrived(D) eclectic … uniform(E) grandiose … controlled

Source: Wall St. Journal, citing ETS

White/Black Analysis of 2 SATs: October, 1998 and October, 2000

• 60 math & 78 verbal questions per test (138 total), 2 tests:

276 questions

• Query: How many black preference questions? White preference questions?

• The number of black preference questions out of 276 is:

0 questions

(a no-hitter)• The number of white

preference questions out of 276 is:

276 questions

Distribution of White/Black Gaps inOct. 1998 and Oct. 2000 Data Sets

.

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 3% 6% 9% 12% 15% 18% 21% 24% 27% 30%

# of ques-tions

% gap in questions

Why Do They Choose QuestionsLike a Reverse NBA Draft?

• “Each individual SAT question ETS chooses is required to parallel the outcomes of the test overall. So, if high-scoring test-takers – who are more likely to be white - tend to answer the question correctly in pretesting, it’s a worthy SAT question; if not, it’s thrown out. Race and ethnicity are not considered explicitly, but racially disparate scores drive question selection, which in turn reproduces racially disparate test results in an internally reinforcing cycle.” The Nation, April 14, 2003, pg. 24.

Conclusions of Preference Analysis

• All SAT questions capture something about race & gender, and 99% of the time it is invisible.

• Group score differences are set NOT when students test, but when questions are chosen.

• Black preference questions are ALWAYS eliminated after pretesting – racial profiling?

• Bubble tests quantify race (who’s flunking the exit exams in TX, MA, FL, CA)?

• The SAT is a white preference test, “built’ by selecting white preference questions.