College Board 'Concerned' About Low SAT Scores

Claudio Sanchez (NPR)

The College Board, sponsor of the SAT, says that roughly six out of 10 college-bound high school students who took the test were so lacking in their reading, writing and math skills, they were unprepared for college level work.

The College Board is calling for big changes to better prepare students for college and career.

Stagnant Scores

The average SAT score this year was 1498 out of a possible 2400. It's been roughly the same for the last five years.

"And we at the College Board are concerned," says David Coleman, the board's president.

In a conference call with reporters, Coleman said his biggest concern is the widening gap in scores along racial and ethnic lines. This year Asian students had the highest overall average scores in reading, writing and math, followed by whites, and then Latinos. Black students had the lowest average scores. Coleman said it's time to do something about it, not just sit back and report how poorly prepared students are for college and career.

"Simply put, the College Board will go beyond simply delivering assessments to actually transforming the daily work that students are doing," Coleman says.

Coleman wants to work with schools to make coursework tougher and make sure students have access to more demanding honors and advanced placement courses, because right now, most students don't. Most worrisome of all, Coleman says, "minority students, underrepresented students, have less access." more

Posted by Jeff Henriques at September 26, 2013 4:24 PM
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