Attention Mayor Bloomberg: Lower SAT Scores Don’t Equal ‘Success’
A spokesman for the city schools, Andrew Jacobs, said: “It is especially encouraging that so many more of our black and Hispanic students took the SAT this year, since far too few of these students have historically put themselves on track for college.” This statement, however, drips with sophistry. The number of minority students taking the SAT this year is about the same as those taking the exam last year. Moreover, is Mr. Jacobs claiming blacks and Hispanics cannot succeed on this test? What are the implications of that statement? And how does he square the relative success of minority students on New York City administered standardized tests with the relatively poor showing of this population on the SAT?
If the SAT scores demonstrate that New York City minority students are not prepared for college-level study, one must ask what are they prepared for. Most significantly, the poor results on the SAT test call into question some of the exaggerated claims about student performance. Do the New York City scores in reading and math truly support the proposition that the city’s students are showing marked improvement? Will Mayor Bloomberg be inclined to scale back his rhetoric about educational progress?
Perhaps the most noteworthy development from this recent report is that educational scholars are likely to examine the so-called progress in the city’s school system — or, at least, I hope so. It would surely be helpful to understand why students are doing so well on one hand and so poorly on the other.
So Mr, London, if Nanny Bloomberg isn’t doing the job properly, what would you do to solve the problem?
I see a lot of complaining, but no actual solutions. Do you actually have any solutions, or is this just another issue for you to whine and complain?
When the curricula in New York City public schools matches that of the the private schools – Latin, geography, math requirements, and hard science (not Life Science) – the SAT scores may again rise.
Tristan Phillips
The article does not whine. It simply reports and asks some pointed questions. If you feel that something is missing, instead of complaining about it, why don’t you make some recommendations?
This is a good counterpoint to the endless amount of positive press Bloomberg has received about his progress on education and asks some good questions.
Here’s an actual solution: Vote Bloomberg out in November. It’s time for some change.
What good does it do for “so many more of our black and Hispanic students ” to take the SAT test if they are still unprepared for college level work?
There is NO getting around the fact that SAT scores are a fly in the ointment when it comes time to separate students who are qualified to be college bound and those who aren’t.
There are many apologists aggressively seeking to place the blame of a failing system on issues that have little relevance. Their oft repeated refrain is that minority students cannot afford SAT tutors and are thus at an unfair disadvantage. Hence, they can never match their white counterparts. Nonsense, and I can prove it.
I offered both my son’s review courses for the SAT, knowing full well that many of their friends were using these services. My sons both said no thanks, as they wanted to study on their own. For less than $ 25 they bought review books and practiced, practiced and practiced. Lo and behold they earned near perfect scores in the top 99 percentile.
Therefore, the excuse that minority students are playing on an unequal economic field is just that – an excuse. There is surely nothing stopping even the most disadvantaged students from buying a study guide at Barnes and Noble. Perhaps it might cut into their cell phone money or a new pair of sneakers that month, but if college is that important they will find a way.
Bloomberg should also man-up and admit that all is not well in NYC’s union co-opted educational system, a blight if there ever was one.
Perhaps he should advise the teachers to spend more time on the basics, instead of wasting their time on indoctrination and feel good lesson plans.
The proof of their failures can be found in plummeting SAT scores. For shame, after all the money thrown at a runaway system!
More students taking the SAT naturally results in lower overall scores.
That does not mean that the initiatives are failing.
Do people realize that most teachers that graduate from education programs are the least gifted people who receive degrees? Generally speaking ,they are the bottom of the barrel.
#7 More students taking the SAT naturally results in lower overall scores.
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That’s only true if those additional test takers don’t have the knowlege required to maintain the average.
Adina – your one example of your sons’success is interesting but it’s not proof that SAT prep courses don’t positively influence scores for some students.
I suggest providing free prep classes to a random sampling of minority students and seeing what happens.
Prep test?????
Haven’t students been prepping for 13 years?
The SAT is a gage of not only the student but also the system and how educators are doing teaching our children. We have to have systems in place that will allow us to see what averages are. Otherwise how else would we know if kids are ready and prepared for college?
Your SAT scores also have a value beyond helping to get into the right school.
Many employers require students to report their scores as part of their resumes. For many elite jobs, the cutoff lines are about the same as for the elite universities. A score of 700 in math and reading is mandatory.