SAT/ACT scores no longer required for University System of Maryland admissions

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (WBFF) — SAT and ACT standardized test scores will no longer be required for admission to member institutions of the University System of Maryland, the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents voted Friday.

Each university can set its own policies regarding standardized test scores, but most of the 12 institutions including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Maryland, College Park supported the policy...

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/satact-scores-no-longer-required-for-university-system-of-maryland-admissions?fbclid=IwAR240Ehm3IydEYFCHk17x7LAEG7GIlfk-CJS1VKEqeNReMrP3cc8tZqP9KM

Test Maker To Pay $16 Million For Divulging Students’ Disabilities

A major standardized test maker has agreed to pay up and alter its practices to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of illegally disclosing information about students’ disabilities.

ACT, Inc. agreed this month to settle a 2018 suit brought by students who claimed that information about their disabilities was included on score reports sent to colleges and that the information was also sold to various entities that do recruitment and marketing as part of the college admissions process.

Under the settlement, which has received preliminary approval from a judge, “ACT has agreed not to resume certain practices related to the collection and use of disability information and the process for enrolling in the Educational Opportunity Service that were the basis of this action,” according to a joint statement released by the parties involved in the litigation...

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/10/30/test-maker-to-pay-16-million-for-divulging-students-disabilities/29057/

MCPS slowly resumes SAT and ACT administration - Masks were Required

...Aside from normal testing requirements, the College Board issued a series of additional coronavirus-related protocols that must be followed on test day. This includes requiring masks for the duration of testing, limiting testing rooms to 10 students, and asking that students arrive 15 to 30 minutes earlier than the normal 7:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. window. The early arrival request will allow time for test takers to complete a COVID-19 safety screening — a process where students verbally respond to a series of statements about potential exposure — before being permitted to enter the building... 

https://silverchips.mbhs.edu/content/mcps-slowly-resumes-sat-and-act-administration-32960/

University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT

Admissions tests, allegedly biased against minority students, will be phased out over five years

The University of California board of regents voted Thursday to stop using the SAT and ACT college admissions exams, reshaping college admissions in one of the largest and most prestigious university systems in the country and dealing a significant blow to the multibillion-dollar college admission testing industry...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/university-of-california-will-stop-using-sat-act-11590099469

WSJ: For Sale: SAT-Takers’ Names. Colleges Buy Student Data and Boost Exclusivity

For 47 Cents, the College Board will sell an individual's information, feeding admissions frenzy

By  Douglas Belkin | Graphics by Elbert Wang

Nov. 5, 2019 12:57 pm ET

Jori Johnson took the practice SAT test as a high-school student outside Chicago. Brochures later arrived from Vanderbilt, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of Chicago.

The universities’ solicitations piqued her interest, and she eventually applied. A few months later, she was rejected by those and three other schools that had sought her application, she said.  The high school valedictorian's test scores, while strong by most standards ...

Entire story behind paywall:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-sale-sat-takers-names-colleges-buy-student-data-and-boost-exclusivity-11572976621

Want to know what is wrong with our educational system?

A 21st Century Union:

The message in 2009 was much more sophisticated than in 2003.  This time, principals would not be asked how they could decrease participation on the SAT in order to raise the averages.  This time, MCPS would just ask a simple question  "which test is best for you?"      It was so benign, yet so brilliant.   Have a meeting with the administration of every high school, and ask them to communicate to parents and students that they have a choice.   Students may take the ACT or the SAT.   Just use criteria like the one below to help students make their decision:

  SAT ACT Comparison Checklist by   Mccrabster

Nothing to it.  This SAT/ACT action plan would then be "customized to meet the needs of individual schools."

Clarksburg High School created a page.

Walter Johnson had a page.

Northwood did this.

Damascus High School made a Power Point.

The plan was perfect.  In 2010, twenty-four of twenty five high schools in Montgomery County saw their percentage of SAT test takers drop.  Participation dropped, average scores rose, and Dr. Weast could continue to promote the MCPS brand name while building his consulting career in- get this- helping other districts use data to increase student achievement.

Want to know what is wrong with our educational system?   Folks- MCPS is a national model for its use of data.   But no one cares about what the data is designed to measure.   We just care about moving the data- which is no way to run an educational system.

Guest Post: Does MCPS Cook SAT Books?

An MCPS  report on SAT and ACT scores (Participation and Performance Trends of College Admission Examinations in the Classes of 2007 to 2011, 7/12) found increases in ACT only test taking, although scores dropped off as ACT tests taken by low income students doubled and did not meet the MCPS proficiency standard.  The report recommended MCPS place an emphasis on ACT results similar to the SAT. 

Poverty correlates with lower test scores in the Down County (DCC) and North East County Consortiums (NEC).  Because of the emphasis MCPS places on SAT scores, DCC schools and some others counsel students with low PSATs to take the ACT instead.  As a result they have higher SAT scores and a low average SAT participation rate (51%, excluding Blair because of its magnate student population). 

Alternatively, NEC schools encourage SAT participation.  NEC’s high average poverty rate average is still lower than DCC’s (56% vs. 73%). However, because of their much higher participation rate (74%), NEC average SAT scores were only slightly higher than DCC schools (1469 vs. 1454 in 2010-11).  A comparison to Fairfax County schools that have high poverty rates (>50%) found higher average SAT scores (1523), and higher participation rates (61%) than the DCC. 

SAT scores are used by parents when selecting among schools, but they need to be cautiously look at the participation rates for comparability.  Also, ACT scores are not made available in Schools at a Glance and parents cannot tell if a large segment of students are college ready, or which schools are doing a better job. 

Has either Consortium lived up to the hope that managed competition, and a decade of focused efforts and higher spending have reduced the achievement gap for college preparation?  It now appears that instead of innovative strategies, MCPS selectively enriched SAT participation and withheld ACT scores from the public to make results look better. 

The County Council is sponsoring an update to its 2009 review of the achievement gap in the DCC and NEC, looking at SAT and ACT scores, and best practices.  This should set the stage for a larger independent performance and cost review of MCPS that answers questions about how “one size fits all” strategies and performance measures help kids achieve, who is left out, and cost- effective strategies to prepare kids for alternate career success.

Gordie Brenne, Board Member, Montgomery County Taxpayers League (a non-profit, non-partisan organization)

ACT Finds Most Students Still Not Ready for College

Student performance on the ACT essentially held steady this year, with slight improvement shown in the math and science parts of the college-entrance exam.
Still, 60 percent of the class of 2012 that took the test failed to meet benchmarks in two of the four subjects tested, putting them in jeopardy of failing in their pursuit of a college degree and careers.
The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2012, released today by the Iowa City, Iowa-based nonprofit testing organization ACT Inc., includes performance information from students in the spring graduating class who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. This year, 1.67 million seniors or 52 percent of the U.S. graduating class took the exam...

Education Week article continues here.

Va ACT scores outpace national averages | The Associated Press | Nation | Washington Examiner

Va ACT scores outpace national averages | The Associated Press | Nation | Washington Examiner

MCPS ACT Scores Show Slight Decline

DC Examiner:  Local students improve slightly on ACT college exams

...In Montgomery County, the class of 2010 scored an average score of 23.4 out of 36 points, the school system said. The release did not include the 2009 average, but schools data show that the average score was 24 in 2008...

***
Where is the MCPS 2009 ACT exam data? 

Balt. Sun: Preparing for SAT may not pay big returns

The Baltimore Sun's Inside Ed column on a new report out from the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Two of the conclusions from the report:

Because empirical evidence suggests that the average effects of commercial coaching programs are small, students should be counseled to consider less costly forms of test preparation available by using books or the Internet. High school students and their families should be counseled to be wary of coaching rip-offs

As it has been found that even small test score increases may increase a student’s chances of admission at selective institutions, if money and time are no object, commercial coaching or private tutoring may well be worth the cost. However, this will primarily be true for students with above average admission test scores in the first place.