Community Corner
Superintendent: SAT Data Interpretations Vary
How much weight it holds as a benchmark is different for different entities, she said.
Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway on Friday pointed out that the SAT seems to carry a lot more weight in the eastern states than it does in the West.
"We received the data just yesterday and we already had received the ACT scores," she said. "The ACT is extremely popular in the western half of the country and you will see it emphasized more in places like Utah and California. But the SAT is a criterion many colleges use as a baseline and we seem to have more people taking that here than in the West."
Conway was reacting to the release on Thursday of Data from the College Board, the administrator of the SAT test, showing that overall participation rates for public school students continue on an upward trend while also reflecting an increasing diversity among test-takers. On the whole, students posted similar average scores from last year, with slight upticks in reading and writing, the College Board said.
How Vernon fared on the latest SAT data is displayed in the attached chart.
Conway said some colleges take the SAT very seriously and look at combined performance before things like curriculum, grades and extracurricular activities.
Some "very well-known colleges" colleges go to the extreme of not using the SAT at all to determine admission.
"Something that is worthwhile about the SAT is that it gives kids a sense of where they are kids across nation compared to others taking this test," Conway said.
Conway said the the SAT's "old-fashioned bubble and a-b-c-d format" is "not the way assessments are going now."
She said many more standardized tests ask students to choose all applicable answers to questions and even ask them to explain their answers.
"I am not sure how quickly the SAT would adapt to that," she said.
She said Rockville High School will be able to offer free PSAT testing to all sophomores and juniors this year as part of an Alliance District grant from the state.
"That gives kids an idea what their strengths are before taking the SAT," she said.
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