Re: SAT manipulation

[Ron Barnett <rbarnett@GREENVIL.GANNETT.COM>]

Nancy,
        Sounds like you've got a lot of pent-up hostility  toward the
news media over this kind of stuff. We're not trying to "bash" the
schools. The idea is to try to make some sense out of the SAT reporting
process. We have a hard time getting straight answers about how fair it
is to compare schools, districts and states by SAT averages.
        Our state, South Carolina, ranks at the bottom of the SAT list.
We have a larger percentage of students taking the test than some
states. But there are a lot of things we don't necessarily know about
when it comes to how the tests are reported.
        I can tell from reading some of the previous postings of this
group that many of you question the way standardized tests are reported
and how the numbers are used. If schools are put in a position where
they have a motive to try to manipulate their test scores because of
this shallow-minded public perception thing, we want to show that. We
want to do the real story.
        In this case, it seems to me that it's the whole system that's
screwed up, and I haven't heard anything from this group (although I've
skipped over some of the postings) that solves the problem. All we can
do in the media to try to improve things is to shed light on what's
really happening.
        Ron Barnett

> ----------
> From:         Nancy Patterson
> Sent:         Monday, October 26, 1998 7:55 PM
> To:   ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> Subject:      Re: SAT manipulation
>
> Yup, Stephanie.  Let's see how many ways we can bash schools.  Let's
> see how
> many ways schools fail.  Geez I get tired of this from the press.  I
> have a
> degree in journalism. I know what makes news and what doesn't.  But
> that
> doesn't keep me from protesting this constant battering.  I am so sick
> of
> hearing politicians ranting about how horrible our schools are, and I
> am so
> sick of reading newspaper and magazine articles that use specious
> statistics
> and lazy reporting to give the "facts" about testing, schooling, and
> teaching.
>
> Why not find something really interesting.  Like how these tests
> discriminate against students.  Like how US schools really stack up
> against
> other countries.  Try reading _The Manufactured Crisis_ by Berliner
> and
> Biddle, and then come back to us and ask some intelligent questions.
>
> Or try poking your nose into one of the profession list servs, like
> NCTE-Talk sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English and
> see
> what is really going on in classrooms and the issues teachers face.
> Try
> taking a look at the level of professionalism that exists in
> classrooms.
>
> Instead of looking at these meaningless test scores, try finding out
> the
> relationship between test scores and economic status in your area.
> And then
> try reading Shirley Brice Heath's book _Ways With Words_ and come back
> and
> ask us how we are dealing with this issue today.  Go for the tough
> issues
> rather than the cheap shots. Or go for the article about how these
> high
> stakes tests drive curriculum in directions that we know are not good
> for
> students and drive teaching methods we know are not very effective.
>
>
> At 03:28 PM 10/26/98 -0500, you wrote:
> >Fair Test folks:
> >This message is from Ron Barnett, a reporter for The Greenville News,
> a
> >daily newspaper in South Carolina. I've been following your recent
> >debate with interest. My partner on the education beat is looking
> into
> >an issue we hope you can help us with. Here's her question.
> >
> >I'm looking into how some schools may be manipulating test scores,
> >specifically  S.A.T. scores. One example: I've heard that some
> guidance
> >counselors encourage (lower achieving) students not to send their
> scores
> >to colleges until they see how well (or not well) they perform on the
> >test (thereby increasing the average score at that school).
> >
> >This, of course, enables schools to avoid reporting the lower scores
> >which makes them look better in the eyes of people who judge
> everything
> >by those numbers.
> >
> >I am wondering if any of you can comment on this or point us to
> someone
> >who can.
> >Thanks for your help,
> >Stephanie Erickson at The Greenville News (new education reporter
> here)
> >
> >>From Ron Barnett, The Greenville News
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> Nancy G. Patterson
> patter@voyager.net
> <http://www.msu.edu/user/patter90/opening.htm>
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