SAT Scores Drop in Math for Class of 2014

The high school class of 2014 turned
in the lowest math scores on the SAT college-entrance exam since
2000, reinforcing concern that the U.S. is falling behind global
rivals in science and math performance.

Math results dipped a point to 513 from last year and from
a peak of 520 in 2005, while writing fell to 487, the lowest
mark since that portion of the test was first given to the class
of 2006. Reading scores rose by a point.

“Flat and stagnant would be the words that we would use,”
Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment at the College Board,
which administers the test, said on a call with reporters.

U.S. teenagers lag behind peers from Asia in international
tests of math, reading and science, prompting calls for
improvements to educational standards. Fewer than half, or 42.6
percent, of SAT takers met benchmarks to show they are prepared
for college-level work, compared with 42.7 percent last year.

“If we want scores to increase, we need to pay much more
attention to improving the quality of education in all of our
schools,” said Diane Briars, president of the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics in Reston, Virginia. “We have
pockets of excellence, but we don’t have systemic excellence.
That’s where we need to focus our energy.”

‘Same Old’

The SAT is in the midst of a redesign to make the test more
relevant. The new exam, to be offered in March 2016, will
dispense with esoteric words, won’t deduct points for incorrect
answers and will make the essay section optional. Almost 175,000
more students took the ACT, owned by ACT Inc. of Iowa City,
Iowa, than the College Board’s SAT.

“Offering the same old test in the face of lasting
problems is just not good enough,” David Coleman, president and
chief executive officer of the New York-based College Board,
said in a statement.

In the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment,
administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the U.S. placed below average in math and about
average in reading and science among the 34 countries in the
OECD. In math, U.S. students trailed those in Singapore, Taiwan,
South Korea and Japan, as well as the Chinese regions of Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Macau.

Common Core

Briars pointed to the math section of the Common Core
national curriculum standards as a way to improve performance
because it emphasizes conceptual understanding, problem solving
and reasoning. The standards for math and English language arts
for kindergarten through 12th grade have been adopted by more
than 40 states and the District of Columbia.

By adhering to the standards, “you would see an increase
in SAT scores,” said Briars, who served as mathematics director
of Pittsburgh Public Schools and has a Ph.D. in mathematics
education.

States that adopt the standards qualify for federal grants
from the government’s Race to the Top program. Critics of Common
Core say it amounts to a federal takeover of education, and some
states have opted out or are re-examining the standards.

The College Board report also shows that the difference
between how black and white students perform on the tests has
widened over the years. In 2014, white students had scores that
averaged 298 points higher than black students, an increase from
291 points in 2006.

Falling Behind

“We’re falling further behind in achieving racial equity
in our schools,” said Bob Schaeffer, a spokesman for FairTest,
a Boston-based nonprofit group critical of standardized testing.

The number of SAT test takers in the class of 2014 was 1.67
million, up less than a percent from last year, compared with a
2.6 percent increase to 1.85 million for the ACT. The ACT
numbers are likely to rise over at least the next two years, as
more states decide to fund the test during the school day.

About a fifth of four-year colleges and universities in the
U.S. have dropped the SAT or ACT as an admissions requirement,
saying there are better ways to evaluate applicants. Many
admission offices say high school transcripts are a better
indicator of future college success.

At least 20 colleges joined the “test optional” wave in
the past two years, including Wesleyan University in Middletown,
Connecticut; Temple University in Philadelphia; and nearby Bryn
Mawr College.

In the class of 2014, 10 states required and paid for their
public school students to take the ACT when they were juniors.
Two states were added for the Class of 2015 and six more will be
added this year and will be reflected in the class of 2016
report, according to Ed Colby, a spokesman.

Illinois and Arkansas also pay for the test for school
districts that approve it.

The College Board is working to encourage districts to make
the SAT available during the school day, Schmeiser said.
Currently three states, Maine, Delaware and Idaho, and the
District of Columbia pay for students to take the SAT.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Janet Lorin in New York at
jlorin@bloomberg.net;
Oliver Staley in London at
ostaley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Lisa Wolfson at
lwolfson@bloomberg.net
Chris Staiti