SAT Sellout Postponed until 2016: When Republicans Want to Act Like Democrats

Is there a relationship between the wavering Republicans and the wavering of College Board on the SAT format?

It was a sad day when College Board starting their hasty retreat from critical thinking on the SAT. 

The test, though it did change in  2005, primarily with the addition of a writing/grammar section, seems now on the verge of amalgamating with its archrival: the ACT in its "de-emphasis of critical thinking", as one of College Board's reps put it a recent conference.

Of course this isn't the first change the SAT has ever been through. When I started tutoring the SAT in 2004, it was a bit of a dread of mine to deal with the then new English-oriented section of the SAT.  After all, I had just helped a student improve his SAT score by 300 points in two weeks, and 470 points in one month, and now I had to deal with my own greatest nemesis: grammar.  I had finished with a "D" on my English final exam as a freshman in high school, but I wasn't going to let that stop my transition to my life as a professional tutor.  Within a few short months my students were doing quite well on the new Writing section; in fact, it was soon after that I had students scoring perfectly on the PSAT, SAT, and ACT English components of those respective tests.

The way I saw it, grammar was in great disrepair in American society and College Board was stepping up to the plate to knock our infamous reputation for not speaking proper English out of the park.  After all, what better way to make students step up to the plate than to test them until they got it right? Well, with the latest murmurings from College Board (revealed in an email by the Summit Group to subscribers of tutor.com), I really can't pretend any longer. College Board is jealous.  I mean avocado green jealous.  With the ACT becoming the predominant test, with it finally being taken more by students in 2012 than those taking the SAT, the pressure was on College Board to make a decision:  toss ("de-emphasize") critical thinking skills, and add a science section to finally go completely over to the dark side, or do a better job with marketing and make the whole test process easier.  The latest round of news makes it clear what choice they made. Unfortunately, even grammarians can't be happy with the new format.

But, let's be objective for a moment:  let's argue College Board needs to stay up with the times and the ACT's cutting edge test content and format (i.e. making the essay portion of the test optional, for example).  Would it be the end of the world to make the essay on the SAT optional, and just focus more on publicizing the need for critical thinking in our society?  No, make no mistake about it, the ACT corporation's shrewd tactics of persuading several states to make the ACT a high school exit test gave a tremendous boost to the number of students taking the ACT. However, was it really necessary for College Board to start getting desperate when they started to see they were behind in the game for the first time?

I liken the whole ordeal to be much like our last presidential election in 2012.  The ACT can be likened to Mr Obama keeping a low profile until swooping in to steal the election in 2008, he didn't really have much experience in public office, but was very likable.  Able to get away with saying that there were 57 states in the USA, he might be likened to the ACT website itself, where not one of my students has been able to print of a a practice test without getting formatting errors.  Comparing Mr Romney in 2016 to the perennial SAT might be a little too kind, though. The SAT, we must admit, has been consistent for some time while Mr Romney has been plagued by vacillation throughout his career. Held out by some as a champion of the Right, Romney was criticized for flip flopping and not really taking principled stands on issues like abortion, illegal immigration, involvement in international conflicts, and even his attitude toward bank bailouts.

The College Board and the SAT, it seems to me, are now faultering in a similar way:  rearranging the decks on their titanic organization that is supposed to be buoyed up by critical thinking, they seem to be on the brink of making a decision to ditch critical thinking, the anchor of their ship, altogether (or at least give the appearance that critical thinking isn't that important after all). Many republicans stayed home in 2012 because they really didn't see Romney as standing for Republican values in an unequivocal way.  Won't the same happen in 2016 when College Board forfeits its right to call a question that really makes one think an "SAT question"?  I say stop trying to be like something else and focus on what makes you stand out as a winner in the first place. Or has critical thinking become a thing of the past?

Our start in Mason when classes were initially offered for the SAT and ACT Test

My initial working with a much younger class than I was used to begin when an Indian man first contacted me, asking if he could work for me tutoring the SAT test.  He had enough to say that I decided to meet him at Panera to talk about the tutoring.

Younger students can do well on the SAT and even ACT, even with a classroom preparation

Lately having three 7th graders prepping for the SAT in the Duke University Talent Identification Program  (TIP), I've been reminded about how competitive the test environment can be, even for the ACT test. This article highlights some of my star students who took their prep pretty seriously. No doubt, however, they also were sharp in their own right. One, Vik, had a good grammar teacher in middle school, helping him to quickly catch onto my system at the learning center. Another, Andy, had a very mathematical mind, which helped him score perfectly on the Explorer Test after we tutored for some time. His 640 on the Math part of the SAT isn't that shabby either, but he can certainly do better with a little more attention to detail.

Mason, OH, Center of Big Results for SAT & ACT Tutoring and Test Prep

The Duke program participation is primarily focused on 7th and 8th graders.

Now offering in-home tutoring in Mason

Did you know we work outside our center in Mason, Ohio? A+ Tutoring/Test Preparation not only helps run the A+ Advanced Learning Center in Mason but is available for in-home SAT and ACT tutoring in Mason and Deerfield Township. We do serve other areas in Greater Cincinnati and tutor other subjects besides college entrance tests. For more info about test prep and classes please call 513 939-9033 or visit our main website, we you can also send us an email.