<p>bclintonk-
The NAEP specified 3 levels of achievement: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. In 2005, 5% of 12th gradres scored in the Advanced level in Reading whereas only 2% scored in the Advanced level in math. Math skills are scarcer by this metric and by a supply-and-demand metric.</p>
<p>That must be one difficult test if the kids taking Calculus in 12th grade only score Proficient (mean = 182).</p>
<p>^^ collegehelp,</p>
<p>Fine. I have no quarrel with the NAEP scores. My only point is that 750+ Math scores are far more abundant that 750+ CR scores. “Proficient” v. “advanced” on the NAEP is clearly measuring something different. I suspect the NAEP is still testing at a coarser level of definition than the SAT. Only 1.6% of college-bound senior SAT-takers score 750+ on CR, and the SAT-takers are a subset of the overall population of seniors. So clearly SAT CR is testing for a higher level of ability than is the NAEP definition of “advanced” reading, which encompasses 5% of ALL HS seniors. In contrast, 2.6% of college-bound senior SAT-takers score 750+ on SAT M. Since only 2% of NAEP-taking seniors scored at the “advanced” Math level, it’s tempting to conclude that you don’t even need to be “advanced” in math (as defined by NAEP) to score 750+ on the SAT. But that’s probably wrong–again, because the NAEP either tests all seniors, or becuase it tests a representative cross-section of all seniors, while the SAT tests primarily those who have self-selected for the college admissions process, presumably a group with stronger skills than the general HS senior population.</p>
<p>But once again, I maintain that EITHER truly top-level CR skills are just rarer, OR that a 750+ on SAT M is a less impressive badge of accomplishment because it is a less discriminating test. Hard to see how you can avoid one conclusion or the other. Either way, if I’m on an adcom at an elite college, the rarer 750+ CR looks more impressive to me (anywhere but an engineering school, that is). I frankly don’t care how many NAEP “advanced” reading students scored 700-740 or 650-690 on CR. They’re not the top tier I’m looking for.</p>
<p>Not exactly sure if this has been said or not, but bclintonk, I think you also need to look at the standards that the CR and M sections are testing for. The math section does NOT test for higher level math, such as derivatives and integrals (or eveno higher level stuff). It is designed to test basic algebra and some trig, if I recall correctly. However, with CR, it’s all one thing. Sure, you could ask more “in-depth” questions, but on the whole, CR for 8th graders is the same as CR for 12th graders, whereas math for 8th graders is decidedly different than math for 12th graders.</p>
<p>If the math section is testing for that basic proficiency, then it stands to reason that more people will score higher on that section. The conclusion I’m arriving at is that the M and CR sections ARE in fact testing at different levels. Math is only going up to a 10th grade level (or wherever Algebra 2 is learned) while CR is going up to a true 12th grade standard (whatever that may mean).</p>
<p>Also, as a side note of sorts, I’m a self-professed “math jockey” but my CR score was 60 points higher than my M score ;)</p>