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Vol. 20 No. 2
October 2005
SAT Math Scores Up
ACT Says Students Still Not College
Ready
High schools students still
are not taking the right courses to prepare them for college.
Middle school and high school students still are not doing their
homework. And Mexican-American students are making the least
progress in mathematics.
These are a few of the insights
delivered in the results of the latest battery of nationwide
tests. There is good news within them though. Here is a brief
summary and web addresses for more details.
SAT MATH SCORES UP, SAT
VERBAL SCORES FLAT
One million-and-a-half high school seniors took the
SAT this year and posted the highest math scores in the history
of the test, according to the College Board. The average SAT
math score was 520, an increase of two points over last year.
Average math scores of Asian-American students have soared
25 points over the past decade, up from 555 to 580, according
to the College Board. For white students they have risen 15 points
over the same period from 521 to 536, for black students they
have increased 9 points to 431 and for Mexican-American students,
they have risen 5 points to 463.
Men posted an average 538 SAT math score, while women scored
504, an increase of 14 points for them since 1995.
"I am encouraged by the improvement demonstrated in math,"
said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, adding
that students need math skills to succeed in college and the
highly-competitive global marketplace.
The College Board also noted the math gains were accompanied
by more students actually taking pre-calculus, calculus and physics.
However, the average SAT verbal score of 508 remains virtually
unchanged for the last three years.
New SAT Writing Results
The class of 2005 was the last to take the "old"
SAT. Some 1.4 million juniors took the "new" SAT last
spring, and that test has been administered three times already.
The College Board will not release all of the results of the
new test with its more complicated math and verbal questions,
including a new writing section, until next year. But it said
the results show similar math and verbal trends to the old test.
It did report that the average score on the new writing section
was 516 out of 800.
The College Board believes the test will prompt greater attention
to bolstering writing skills. For a copy of the College Board
report see: www.collegeboard.com.
ACT SCORES UNCHANGED
While the SAT revealed some improved student skills,
the national results of the ACT showed no change for 2005 high
school grads compared to 2004. The average 2005 composite score
was 20.9 for the 1.2 million high school graduates who took the
test last spring. This represents 40 percent of all high school
grads, according to the ACT.
Minority students now account for 27 percent of all ACT test-takers.
And the number of Hispanic test-takers has jumped by 40 percent
since 2001, while the number of African-American test-takers
has grown by 23 percent during the same period.
"It is wonderful that more and more students who might
not have considered college several years ago are now making
plans for education beyond high school," said ACT's chief
executive officer, Richard L. Ferguson. "That's a reflection
of the many recent state and national policies and initiatives
designed to increase student achievement so that more students
are ready for college and work after high school." Ferguson
also said he was buoyed that despite this growth in the number
of test-takers, scores have not fallen as a result.
Still Not College Ready
But ACT's new "College Readiness Benchmarks," which
indicate a probability of college success, suggest that only
half of the record number test-takers have adequate college-level
skills in reading comprehension.
And, the majority of high school graduates are still missing
"college-ready skills" in math and science. Just 41
percent of ACT test-takers scored 22 or higher on the math test,
indicating they have "a high probability of succeeding in
college algebra." And only 26 percent scored 24 or higher
on the science test, "indicating they are likely to succeed
in college biology."
Course Selection Problems
Far too many students still are "not taking the right
kind of courses in high school that prepare them for college
and work," ACT concluded. Only 56 percent of the test-takers
reported taking the recommended core curriculum for college-bound
students. In part, that is because too few students are "arriving
in high school with the foundational skills to take challenging
courses," Ferguson noted.
For a copy of the ACT report see www.act.org.
NAEP SCORES PROVIDE HOPE
In case you missed it, the news was not good for college-bound
students when the National Center for Education Statistics released
the results from its 2003/04 national test of 28,000 public and
private school students ages 9, 13 and 17 this summer.
Thirteen-year-old students scored higher in math in 2004 than
in any previous assessment year. But reading scores remain unchanged
from the last assessment.
The reading and math scores of 17-year-olds remain virtually
unchanged since the 1970s when the test was first administered.
However, NAEP said black and Hispanic students in this age group
made progress since the initial assessment.
The study also found that older students are doing little
homework.
The news was good, however, for elementary students who posted
gains in both reading and mathematics. The largest gains were
made by nine-year-old minority students who significantly narrowed
the achievement gap with white students by increasing their reading
scores by 14 points on a 500-point scale. Nine-year-old white
students improved by five points. Nine-year-old Hispanic students
improved by 12 points.
In mathematics, nine-year-old minority students gained five
points on white students. Nine-year-old Hispanic students improved
by 17 points.
For more info see: http://nces.ed.gov.
ETS LAUNCHES NEW TOEFL
OVER THE INTERNET
The Educational Testing Service introduced the first
large-scale English-proficiency assessment to be delivered over
the Internet late September to more than 2,000 students at testing
centers and educational institutions across the U. S.
The new Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) "is
the only test that uses Internet-based technology on such a global
scale to measure English proficiency," said Kurt Landgraf,
ETS President and CEO.
ETS said that the test integrates four components of language
skills--listening, reading, writing and speaking and test takers
are presented with questions that reflect how language is used
in an academic setting. According to Mari Pearlman, senior vice
president of higher education at ETS, "Admission officials,
in turn, gain a better idea of how well prospective students
will interact at their universities."
ETS has also expanded the writing section. In addition to
the essay section in the current test, the new test includes
another writing task. Test takers will read a short passage,
listen to a lecture and then type their response on the computer
screen. Test takers are allowed up to four hours to complete
the test, and all sections can be completed on the same day,
adding a new level of convenience for test-takers.
The new TOEFL exam will be administered next in Canada, France,
Germany and Italy. The test is recognized by more than 5,200
colleges and universities worldwide. For more information or
to view a practice test see www.ets.org/toefl.
P.S. No to New SAT/ACT. Three liberal arts colleges,
Lawrence U. in Wisconsin and St. Lawrence U. and Sarah Lawrence
of New York will no longer require standardized test scores from
admissions applicants. According to a recent FairTest Examiner,
700 accredited bachelor-degree granting institutions are now
"test-optional."
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Latino Students Lag Behind in Financial Aid for College
BY 2050, Hispanics are expected
to make up nearly one-quarter of the nation's population. Yet
Hispanic success in higher education is lagging behind, according
to a new report released by Excelencia in Education and
the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
"We know that Latino students are not entering and completing
college at rates similar to other groups," said Jamie Merisotis,
president of the Institute. "Addressing economic disparities
is one of the biggest steps we can take to improve success rates
for the Hispanic community."
The report, How Latino Students Pay for College, argues
that the percentage of Latino students receiving financial aid
for college is at an all-time high. Yet Latinos receive the lowest
aid awards on average from the federal government of any
racial or ethnic group.
Latino students received an average financial aid award of
$6,250 in 2003-04. Asian students received the highest average
award of $7,260 and the national average award was $6,890.
The study, billed as the first of its kind to disaggregate
participation rates for Latino students in financial aid programs,
found that while Latino participation has increased in the last
decade, the disparity in average amounts received has remained
unchanged since 1995-96.
Among the reports findings:
- Latino students rely heavily on federal aid and on grants
in particular;
- They are more likely to be first-generation college students
(49 percent) and to have relatively low family incomes;
- Nearly 80 percent of Latino undergraduates applied for aid
and 63 percent of those received some form of aid in 2003-04;
- But, while Latinos were more likely to receive federal aid
(50 percent) than all groups except African American students
(62 percent), Latinos received the lowest average federal awards;
- And, only 16 percent of Latinos received state aid, while
17 percent received aid from postsecondary institutions.
At the same time, the report observes that Latino students
were more likely to enroll on a part-time basis than any other
group (51 percent). Almost half of Latino undergraduates were
enrolled at public two-year institutions in 2003-04, and only
one-quarter of Latino students (25 percent) attended four-year
campuses.
In addition, 40 percent of Latino students enrolled at institutions
with tuition and fees of less than $1,000, and 36 percent were
enrolled at campuses with costs between $1,000 and $5,000.
The report recommends that:
- Federal, state and local levels target information on financial
aid options to Latino students and families;
- The federal government increase maximum awards for Pell grants
to better align with increased college costs, and create an entitlement-based
loan forgiveness program for students who study in areas of need;
- States establish a predictable tuition and fee policy;
- Institutions disaggregate their data to identify Latino progress,
ensure course availability and strengthen course planning;
- Experienced parents and students mentor Latino students in
kindergarten through grade twelve and offer courses on paying
for college.
For more info, see www.EdExcelencia.org.
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Who's Troubled?
Teenagers who live with wealthy, highly educated parents
in affluent neighborhoods are more troubled than other teens,
including poor, inner-city kids, argues Columbia University psychologist
Suniya S. Luthar in Current Directions in Psychological Science.
Rich teens smoke, drink and use drugs at higher rates and exhibit
higher levels of anxiety and depression. More upper-class suburban
girls suffer depression compared with other adolescent girls.
Part of the problem is the isolation kids feel from parents.
Luthar suggests a simple solution: More family dinners. Kids
who usually eat with at least one parent have better grades and
fewer emotional problems than kids who dine on their own. Find
out more at: http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20050505-000007.html.
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THE COUNSELOR'S
CORNER
Merit Scholarships at Public Universities
Editor's Note: How
can students garner merit scholarships at public institutions?
Here directors of different merit scholars programs share their
insight about what the scholarships entail in general and how
their programs work.
SEVEN COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
To begin with, merit programs at public universities
have many common characteristics:
1. They provide opportunities to make a large institution
feel smaller for highly-talented students who are competitively
recruited to come to a state university.
2. The programs have a selective admissions process.
That process varies by institution. Some require a separate application
from the student, or accept nominations from teachers. Most also
ask the admissions office to forward applications of outstanding
students from the common applicant pool. But the final decision
process is a selective one that is separate from general admissions.
That is important for students to understand as they prepare
their essays and gather recommendations.
3. Another commonality is that merit scholars receive
the full cost of attendance to the public institution. The awards
are renewable for four years, contingent upon students meeting
certain criteria such as grades and involvement in group activities.
4. Another characteristic of these programs is supplemental
advising and special mentoring that merit scholars receive. These
programs have dedicated staff to advise scholars and monitor
their academic progress toward their degree and their professional
goals. They also are mentored to see that they are meeting the
special goals of the program, such as leadership development.
5. These programs offer special enrichment activities,
often in the form of summer enrichment programs, freshman retreats,
learning labs, special classes and special study abroad programs
that are tailored for each individual student.
6. These programs also set expectations for these recipients;
an ongoing commitment to the university and a direct participation
in the university community. The merit programs bring talented
students to campus for specific purposes and they are expected
to be role models in the classroom and campus activities.
7. Each of the merit programs has a special group identity
and purpose. That is not always apparent from the materials and
how they are presented to students and counselors. All of the
programs originated as recruiting vessels to get high-caliber
students to the public universities. In accepting these scholarships,
students are buying into a program that is geared toward their
development.
Here are some examples:
THE PARK SCHOLARSHIP AT
NORTH CAROLINA STATE U.
The Park Scholarship puts a strong emphasis on "journeying"
-during the school year. Freshmen go on a retreat before they
come on campus, participate in learning laboratories in North
Carolina and go to Washington D. C. during their second year.
They take a senior retreat in a national park of their choosing,
with time for reflection.
The Park Scholarship also values student service. Park Scholars
are required to volunteer every semester. Emphasis is on discovering
what is exciting and meaningful for them. Finally, even first-year
Scholars have a faculty mentor, in addition to a course advisor,
who will help them choose their summer experiences, get grants
for conferences or research expenses and connect them with a
professional network.
THE MOREHEAD AWARDS,
U. OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
The Morehead Program is the oldest non-athletic merit
scholarship program at a public university in the nation, started
in 1951. Its emphasis is on leadership development. Unlike other
merit scholarships, Morehead doesn't do a lot of programming
during the normal academic year. Students do get together for
social events, class meetings and so forth, but Morehead wants
scholars to take full advantage of the rich academic opportunities
at Chapel Hill.
Morehead's largest programmatic thrust is during the summers,
beginning with the summer after their senior year in high school.
Students go through an outdoor leadership course to make a transition
between high school and college. The second summer involves Morehead
Scholars in public service in either the United States or abroad,
typically an internship delivering services to an underserved
population, primarily in the area of child and family advocacy.
About 70 percent of the students this summer went to internships
abroad, primarily in developing countries.
The third summer is a travel/study opportunity. Students are
expected to design, with the help of a professor, a study project
or an inquiry. The fourth summer, students do internships in
enterprise, trying to simulate a postsecondary job experience
from Wall Street to working for a newspaper, magazine or in a
hospital or governmental organization. This is typically an internship
of 10 to 12 weeks. All of these summer experiences are at the
foundation's expense. And all students get individual advising
as well. Morehead has 2,600 alumni and each class has 50 scholars.
THE WELLS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
AT INDIANA U.
The Wells Scholarship Program, named after Herman
B Wells who served as Indiana's president for 25 years and then
as university chancellor for the final 38 years of his life,
is in its sixteenth year. Some 340 Wells Scholarships have been
awarded, roughly 20 a year. The scholarships honor Wells' commitment
to excellence, his sense of public service and his interest in
international programs.
The Wells Program is faculty-run. Nominations are reviewed
by a group of 60 professors. Wells freshmen take a special seminar
in the fall and another in the spring. The program provides a
full array of extracurricular activities for the students. They
also participate in a capstone Senior Seminar. Students run the
Wells Activism and Volunteer Experience, where scholars adopt
charities in the Bloomington area.
Wells also sponsors two semesters or a year abroad. Students
have to prepare and defend proposals for what they want to study
and where they want to go. Fifty percent study a language as
one of their majors as a result of this international experience.
Laura Lunsford is director of
the Park Scholarships, North Carolina State; Charles Lovelace
is director of the Morehead Awards at the U. of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill; Timothy Londergan is director of the Wells Scholars
Program at Indiana U. All three gave these reports at the NACAC
conference in Milwaukee last fall.
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Hurricanes Impact College Admissions
AS CB WENT TO PRESS, high schools
and colleges were attempting to put the pieces of their college
applications processes back together. Some 29 institutions alone
were affected by Hurricane Katrina and more suffered the brunt
of Hurricane Rita. Some 700,000 college students were displaced.
Throughout the country colleges and universities stepped in to
help students already enrolled in postsecondary institutions.
But the challenge this winter and spring will be to get information
to high school students throughout the country who want to apply
to schools in the Gulf region or who are in high schools affected
and want to apply elsewhere in the country.
Below is a list of the initial colleges impacted by Katrina.
And a number of web sites have been created to keep people updated.
Colleges Affected by Hurricane Katrina
In Louisiana
- New Orleans: Dillard U., Loyola U. New Orleans, Southern
U. at N. O., Tulane U., U. of New Orleans, Xavier U. of Louisiana,
Louisiana State U. Health Services Center, Louisiana Technical
C., Sidney N. Collier Campus, New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary, Our Lady of Holy Cross C. and Delgado Community C.
- Slidell: Grantham C. of Engineering and Louisiana
Technical C., Slidell Campus.
- Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U. and Agricultural and
Mechanical C., Louisiana Technical College Baton Rouge Campus,
Our Lady of the Lake C., Southern U. and Agricultural and Mechanical
C. at Baton Rouge.
In Mississippi and Alabama
- Gulfport, Miss.: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community
C. (four campuses); Jackson, Miss.: Jackson State U.,
Millsaps C., Virginia C., Wesley Biblical Seminary; Lorman,
Miss.: Alcorn State U.; in Hattiesburg, Miss.: U.
of Southern Mississippi.
- Mobile, Alabama: U. of Southern Alabama, U. of Mobile,
Bishop State Community C., Spring Hill C. and Southeast C. of
Technology.
Keeping Up to Date on the Impact
- NACAC has created a Message Board on its Web site at www.nacacnet.org.
It plans to focus on assessment updates, transcript processes,
financial aid implications and contacts for hurricane-affected
institutions.
- ACE and the National Association of College and University
Business Officers have created a web site www.CampusRelief.org
where 40 higher education organizations can provide information
and campuses can post updates.
- U.S. Dept. of Ed has a new Web site, Hurricane Help for Schools,
to connect schools and organizations and to provide links to
other organizations attempting to help hurricane victims. It
also announced special rules for colleges and universities enrolling
students affected by the hurricane. http://www.ed.gov/news/hurricane/index.html.
- ACT has waived the fees to change the test center or test
date for affected students who were registered for the September
or October ACT test dates. ACT encourages students, parents and
school officials to check its websites, www.act.org and www.actstudent.org,
for updates and detailed information.
- The College Board will give freshman applicants who live
(or lived) in an area determined by FEMA to be eligible for both
public and individual assistance as a result of the hurricane
damage a fee waiver for the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Service.
For questions about this arrangement or the PSAT, the National
Merit Scholarship Corporation competitions and the Student Search
Service see http://www.collegeboard.com/katrina/
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Overhauling Engineering. The National Academy of
Engineering is calling for a comprehensive restructuring of college
engineering programs. Its report, "Educating the Engineer
of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century,"
calls for better recruiting and explanation of the benefits of
an engineering education and greater interdisciplinary training
that tracks technological innovation and global competition.
The report urged making a master's degree the entry point
into the working profession, while viewing those with bachelors
as "engineers in training." Undergrad engineer training
should strive to include more exposure to the humanities, communication
arts and foreign languages.
Since 40 percent of engineering students first attend community
college, four-year institutions must do a better job of aligning
their two curricula, the report added. And engineering faculty
need more industry experience. The report also recommended continuing
education for all professional engineers. Find the report at
National Academies Press, www.nap.edu/books/0309096499/html/.
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New Hyper-Demand. According
to the September AARP Bulletin (American Association of
Retired Persons), drug stores, hospitals and clinics are reporting
8,000 unfilled pharmacy positions. "We call it hyper-demand,"
April Shaughnessy of the American Pharmacists Association told
the Bulletin. By 2020, the need is expected to hit 400,000.
Currently 260,000 pharmacists are on the job. Starting salaries
top $100,000 in some regions of the nation.
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Yale's 2009 Class. This
fall, 1,323 first-year students (671 men, 652 women), from 50
states and 42 other nations (8.4 percent of the class) arrived
in New Haven. About one third of the class is made up of U.S.
"students of color." About 43 percent of the incoming
students are receiving financial aid averaging $24,000. The class
was chosen from 19,451 applicants, making the admission rate
9.7 percent, the lowest in Yale's history, and the lowest this
year in the Ivy League, according to the Yale Bulletin.
Yale also posted a 70 percent yield of those offered admission.
More than 55 percent came from public high schools. The median
SAT verbal score was 750, the median math score 740.
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Indiana College Data. Indiana
University at Bloomington attracted 37,958 students this fall,
an increase of 137. Freshman enrollment reached 7,761, an increase
of 659 students. Minority enrollment rose by 9.6 percent to 1,671,
while the number of Asian-American students increased by 5.8
percent to 1,294.
Meanwhile, up the road at Purdue U. in West Lafayette, enrollment
reached 38,712 , up from last year's 38,653.
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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig
Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally
Reed; Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration:
Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: David Breeden,
Edina High School, Minnesota; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford
(N.Y.) Central School District; Howard Greene, author,
The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Frank
C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; M. Fredric Volkmann,
Washington University in St. Louis; Mary Ann Willis, Bayside
Academy (Daphne, Ala.).
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