The National Association for College Admissions Counseling recently released some research regarding SAT test prep. The results are spun in many different ways by different publications. Many agree that the most comprehensive write-up about the research findings can be found here
One colleague, Shuan McElroy (counselor at the Shanghai American School), summoned up the results very well in a post on the NACAC e-list.
Technically a 30 points increase is NOT statiscally significant, even if it feels that way. You see, any standardized test has a Standard Error of difference:
Standard Error of the Difference (SED): The SED is a tool for assessing how much two test scores must differ before they indicate ability differences. To be confident that two scores indicate a true difference in ability, the scores must differ by at least the SED times 1.5. For example, SAT verbal and math scores must differ by 60 points (40 ׳ 1.5) in order to indicate true differences of ability.
30 points versus 60 points. Hmmmm. Yet an astounding "20% to 40% of officials at 130 colleges that consider the SAT in admissions said a 20-point math increase or a 10-point reading increase would "significantly improve a student's chances of admissions" if all other factors in a student's application were the same." Given that the author's study concludes:
* All students should practice for tests, but potential benefits must be balanced against the costs, including time and money.
* Students should be counseled to use less costly forms of test prep, such as books or the Internet, and be "wary of coaching rip-offs."
* If time and money are no object, commercial or private coaching may be worth the cost but "this will primarily be true for students with above-average admission test scores in the first place."
College of Charleston (CofC)
College of Charleston appeals to many of our students. It has a very distinct feel due to its unique location in downtown Charleston. One of the campus "greens" is a park in the middle of the city. A new science building is near complete and it is said to have received some funding from NASA. The business center is very impressive thanks to a local businessman who has pledged 2 million dollars per year for the next thirty years. The marine biology program is noteworthy considering their close proximity to the ocean.
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| New Album 5/11/09 9:32 AM |
College Presidents Write College Essays
Check out the article here. The essays are linked in the article.
Presentation at College Board Forum (Feb 2009)
I was lucky enough to present on Web 2.0 tools and their impact in College Admissions/Recruiting/Counseling this past February. Our presentation was one of three featured on the College Board Forum website prior to the start of the conference. Here is a link to the blogspot page we set up from the presentation. It contains most of the links/tools we covered in the presentation.
Article mentions the success of a St. Luke's senior, Greg Magill
New York Times article found here
Is there a correlation/connection between this article and the previous one found in the Washington Post?
Is there a correlation/connection between this article and the previous one found in the Washington Post?
Interesting article on the Admissions Gap (Those who can pay vs. those who cannot)
Washington Post article found here.
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