SAT Group Can do Better

Karen Arenson:

The College Board should acquire better scanning software, increase training for test center personnel and make other improvements in its procedures to help prevent errors in scoring SAT exams, according to a report released yesterday.

The report, by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, was commissioned by the board after more than 5,000 SAT exams were incorrectly scored last October, some by as many as 450 points out of a possible 2,400 points. The College Board owns and manages the SAT.

The report said the board had already taken significant steps to improve scoring processes since March, when the errors were disclosed. But it said further changes could be made, like improving the manual procedures used to check whether SAT answer sheets have been scanned properly.

Gaston Caperton, the College Board president, said that he welcomed the report’s conclusions and that its recommendations were “very executable.”

But critics of the College Board questioned the independence of Booz Allen, which received $5.2 million in consulting fees from the board in the year ending June 30, 2005, according to a board filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

“This isn’t the outside independent scrutiny” that is needed, said Brad MacGowan, a college counselor in Newton, Mass.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 22, 2006 4:34 PM
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