<p><a href="http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/S/SAT_SCORES_FATIGUE?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME%5B/url%5D">http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/S/SAT_SCORES_FATIGUE?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME</a>
excerpt:
A small but noticeable decline in scores on the newly expanded SAT exam has some wondering whether fatigue is affecting students' performance - an issue that could prompt the College Board to adjust the test....Possible changes to how the SAT is administered were the primary topic at a meeting Friday in New York City of the College Board's SAT advisory committee. Some guidance counselors have called for the College Board, which owns the exam, to let students take separate sections on separate days...."Right now, it's longer than the GRE, the LSAT and the GMATs, and those are all taken by college students or college graduates," said Brad MacGowan, a guidance counselor at Newton North High School in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>I agree. It's way too long! This is not a marathon, so what are they thinking? </p>
<p>This is an "excellent" way to test a 14, 15, or 16 year boy/girl in his/her area of endurance. </p>
<p>It's interesting...how you brought up the format of the test. Since College Board may be undergoing some changes in the near future, all I have to ask is why they made it the way it is now? What were their initial reasons?</p>
<p>If you don't have the mental endurance to last through a 5 hour exam, how do you plan to make it through a good college? (This is not an attack on anyone, just an observation.) I didn't find it that bad at all - if you get a decent night's rest and a good breakfast, I don't see why you can't last 5 hours..</p>
<p>i agree with windslicer... College is going to be a lot of work and long hours. I think that the test maybe better determines you ability to work for an extended amount of time. Anyone can get lucky on a test with only one question - the more questions, (likely) the more accurate the results</p>
<p>actually what i have heard is they are going to eliminate the questions entirely Sen. Someguy, and who ever can make it to 24 hours just sitting there gets a 2400, because seriously, like WindSlicer said, if you cant make it through 5 hours of "critical thinking" at the crack of dawn, theres no way in hell you can make it through a good college, its the perfect litmus test.</p>
<p>I don't think a 4 hour test is a good indication of how you'll do in college...In school you get breaks, you are NOT timed in 25 minute periods and you are allowed to talk.</p>
<p>To be honest, I seriously think that one's SAT score is a good way to measure his/her success in college. Just think about it, all the people I know who have really high SAT scores (2200+) are either very smart or mere geniuses. A person who attains a 4.0 throughout his/her high school career is a hard working student, indeed, but that is not enough to say that ''he/she is very smart''. Because of the competence of some and the incompetence of some high schools, it might be easier to obtain a 4.0 in the more incompetent high schools whereas it would be 10x difficult to attain a 4.0 at the more competent high schools. In regards to that discrepancy between the competence/incompetence of high schools, ETS has done a tremendous thing in that it has developed a standardized test which will determine a person's (reasoning) abilities.</p>
<p>this is true, the SATs were designed to be more or less of an IQ test, however, the debate is whether endurance should be a factor in determining a person's score. I believe that the SATs are good because like you paki said they separate the "smart" kids from the hard working ones, but i dont believe that sitting in a room for 5 hours on one day is a good predictor of how well you will perform in college, like alyssieann said. High school is supposed to determine how well you will perform in college, and the SAT was designed to determine how smart you are.</p>
<p>I still don't think that the SAT is a good measure of intelligence. The SAT can be coached, so an average student who pays $ can get a higher score.</p>
<p>what i don't understnd is why.... there are so many sections but s little time to do them all. It's like it was too long, but there wasn't enough time. WHy 10 sections, i wanted to leave when i saw that on the board.</p>
<p>and i still don't feel like it measures intelligence or competence... when i apply myself I do very well in math, i can remember a bunch of formulas, this year in algebra 2 I've made straight A's... next year I'm taking AP stats. But I do awful on standardized math... for one reason, I learn it, I retain it for a time and forget it. Everything on the SAT's i'd seen before but I didn't remember how to do all of it... does that mean i'm stupid imcompetent in math (i practically teach myself Algebra 2)? No, it means I never really hardwire any of it into my long term memory.
If i ask my mom about cos, sine, and tan... she'll remember having learned it but not what exactly they are... this woman had a 4.0 al through highschool , she has a graduate degree from winthrop. BUt she won't remember exactly how to do trig, does this mean she's stupid.
I mean, so what if i don't remember when the train from new york and the train from boston will meet... i know many other basic algebra equations.... so what if i'm not sure if x + y < 90? I did just fine in geometry.
I think i'll do just fine in college because I can retain math very well for a limited time and i can guide myself in study. I think the SAT proves nothing except that I can read.
Lastly, after reading the post above me: how does it prove how smart you are? all it proves is that you remember stuff... if it proves intelligence, can you guarantee me: that everybody who scored above 2200 can name the capital of every continental United state or of every region in their country? that all of these people know the difference between a steer, a cow, a bull, a hefer and a mare? That all these people know the name of every ocean, every continent, and every hemisphere? That every person know what date the SPanish- American War, American Civil War, Vietnam War, the Bay of Pigs and WW2 started? All of these off the top of their head.
Probably not, why because it's not intelligence... memorizing where commas go, different formulas, how to find the main idea are all book learning. Isn't intelligence : the ability to learn & understand or deal with new or trying situations? ( that doesn't say repeatedly 3 years later , does it?) As well as : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's enviroment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria. (it's not abstract if it's not new , how many times will you manipulate the same enviroment?)</p>
<p>the reason the SAT math is so basic is because they want to test critical thinking skills when it comes to manipulating numbers and variables to solve a math problem. you arent expected to remember everything you learned in algebra I, they just want to see how well you can think critically and interpret what is given to you</p>
<p>On the May SAT I nearly fell asleep in the 8th section!! There should be a half-hour break after the 5th section or something.
Although it is kinda fun to say that I sat in a chair and shaded circles for 4 hours!</p>