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“Learning is like rowing upstream – to not advance is to drop back.” – Chinese proverb.

Well, get ready to go backward … again. Analysis of college-bound seniors’ 2011 SAT scores shows that student improvement is going nowhere, and that Hispanic and African-American students continue to face a wide achievement gap.

When you take into account this year’s SAT analysis and recent ACT scores, which reveal that only 25 percent of the 2011 class could meet the benchmarks for college readiness in all four core subjects, it’s no surprise that we’re dropping back.

The United States has slipped from 12^th to 16^th globally in college education attainment, according to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

How much more writing needs to be on the wall before we reach a consensus that how we continue to educate our kids is not working?

We’re not adequately preparing our K-12 students for college and therefore we’re falling behind other nations both educationally and economically. It’s time that we all step back, admit it’s not working, and then work to reform our education system to emphasize student achievement.

We, and especially our kids, need a system that puts students first and rallies against the backward trends evident in our education system.

By Deborah Newburn
Los Angeles Times
September 14, 2011

More bad news on the national education front: The College Board announced Wednesday that the mean SAT reading score for the high school class of 2011 fell 3 points from 2010′s mean — to 497, making it the lowest reading score since 1972.

The average math score dipped to 489, 1 point lower than last year. And the mean writing score dropped 2 points from last year’s score.

And then there’s this: The board found that just 43% of college-bound seniors met the SAT benchmark score of 1550 (the critical-reading, mathematics and writing scores combined). The benchmark score indicates that a student has a 65% likelihood of achieving a B- or higher during the first year of college. And remember, that’s 43% of students who are planning to go to college.

Not awesome.

In a statement sent to news outlets, Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, articulated what some people might feel after reading the SAT report. “Student achievement remains stagnant and we continue to let failure fester in our education system, jeopardizing the future of our children and our country,” she said.

The organization that offers the ACT, the nation’s other college-entrance exam, recently announced that just 25% of students who took its test met all four of that group’s readiness benchmarks.

But the College Board managed to put some positive spin on the seemingly dire statistics. In the news release, the board pointed out that more college-bound students in the class of 2011 took the SAT than any other high-school graduating class in history. Also, the class of 2011 was the most diverse class in history to take the SAT.

According to the College Board, as different types of students start taking the SAT, it is inevitable that scores will go down. But the board

Read More …

Latest review shows no improvement, widening of achievement gap

CER Press Release
Washington, DC
September 14, 2011

Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform, released the following statement regarding today’s SAT score analysis for college-bound seniors:

“Student achievement remains stagnant, and we continue to let failure fester in our education system jeopardizing the future of our children and our country.

Over the past five years, our kids have failed to show improvement in critical reading, mathematics and writing. And the story is even worse for Hispanic and African-American students who continue to face wide achievement gaps when compared to white students.

The College Board highlights that more students than ever are taking the SAT for college admissions. But, the dramatic drop in scores over the past five years and the failure to improve shines a spotlight on the truth – more of our students continue to be underserved by their schools.

To make matters worse, recent ACT scores revealed that only 25 percent of the 2011 class could meet the benchmarks for college readiness in all four core subjects. It should comes as no surprise that the United States has slipped to 16th globally in college education attainment, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

We must redouble our efforts to reform our education system and emphasize student achievement growth. Our kids need an education system that works for them and breaks free from the failing trends of the past.”

For your reference, CER is providing a breakdown of SAT scores by GPA, ethnicity and class rank. Get the SAT 2011 Breakdown here.

By Deborah Newburn
Los Angeles Times
September 14, 2011

More bad news on the national education front: The College Board announced Wednesday that the mean SAT reading score for the high school class of 2011 fell 3 points from 2010’s mean — to 497, making it the lowest reading score since 1972.

The average math score dipped to 489, 1 point lower than last year. And the mean writing score dropped 2 points from last year’s score.

And then there’s this: The board found that just 43% of college-bound seniors met the SAT benchmark score of 1550 (the critical-reading, mathematics and writing scores combined). The benchmark score indicates that a student has a 65% likelihood of achieving a B- or higher during the first year of college. And remember, that’s 43% of students who are planning to go to college.

Not awesome.

In a statement sent to news outlets, Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, articulated what some people might feel after reading the SAT report. “Student achievement remains stagnant and we continue to let failure fester in our education system, jeopardizing the future of our children and our country,” she said.

The organization that offers the ACT, the nation’s other college-entrance exam, recently announced that just 25% of students who took its test met all four of that group’s readiness benchmarks.

But the College Board managed to put some positive spin on the seemingly dire statistics. In the news release, the board pointed out that more college-bound students in the class of 2011 took the SAT than any other high-school graduating class in history. Also, the class of 2011 was the most diverse class in history to take the SAT.

According to the College Board, as different types of students start taking the SAT, it is inevitable that scores will go down. But the board

Read More …