Score One for the Tutors

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This summer to very little fanfare, the College Board announced that, beginning next March, the SAT will offer a “score choice” option. This means that students will be able to take the SAT as many times as they like and only show the scores to colleges that they choose.

The College Board says on its Web site that it is doing so “to reduce student stress and improve the test-day experience” for high school students. But this is yet another example of politically correct hypocrisy in action: In 2002, the College Board eliminated Score Choice because “it encouraged ‘gamesmanship’ and favored students wealthy enough to repeat tests.” Now after six years, Score Choice is back.

So which is it? Does Score Choice favor the wealthy or does it alleviate stress? The truth is that The College Board is bringing back Score Choice because it is a big money maker. Students will now take the tests many times — and pay for it many times.

Between 1993 and 2002, the College Board offered score choice for the Subject Tests — the extra tests, known as SAT2 or Achievement tests, necessary for most top colleges — but not for the main SAT.

As a SAT tutor I watched as students took the Subject Tests over and over again. One boy took his Writing test seven times. Another student got an 800 on her Math and Writing tests but “only” a 790 on her Literature test. She took the Literature test more than two more times so she could have three 800s. And her college advisor thought that this was a good idea.

While it is certainly less of a burden for wealthy parents to pay for extra tests, the repeat option of Score Choice does little to level the educational playing field for less well-off students. Indeed, Score Choice enables those wealthy students to take a test, see what they are weak on, and prepare some more. Or even be prepared by private tutors like me.

Now the College Board is bringing back Score Choice so I guess they don’t really care that they are giving an advantage to wealthier students. And this time it’s not just for the Subject Tests, but for the SAT as well. The College Board says that it made the change to reduce stress but this is nonsense. Standardized testing is a big business, and pressure from its competitor, the ACT, which has allowed its takers to select their scores for at least the last decade, may be the best explanation for the College Board’s decision.

So should the already confused and stressed-out parents of the high school class of 2010 rejoice or cry? It’s a mixed bag, especially for the next few years as colleges watch to see what happens with average scores.

On the one hand, students will be relieved to know that they can take a test for practice, or that they can do badly, and that it won’t count. If a student is unsure of whether to take the advanced or intermediate math subject test, I’ll recommend that he take both and compare. On the other hand, anxious students — driven by their parents and their advisors — will take these tests over and over again trying to make meaningless 10- or 20-point changes in their scores.

The madness will be much worse for the SAT. Students will take the SAT repeatedly, perhaps a half-dozen times. Some will start their freshmen or sophomore years of high school, taking it at every available testing date. This is unhealthy — and pointless.

In our pressure-cooker college application environment, students think that getting a 700 rather than a 690 will mean the difference between getting in and not getting in. It won’t. They should concentrate on their grades. In the meantime, every time that a student retakes a test means more money for the College Board. I estimate that, currently, most of my students take an SAT or Subject Test about six times combined before applying to college. I expect that to double.

In the end, this will all mean more money for the College Board and more for my business. But will it relieve stress or make it worse? That remains to be seen. If it does increase stress, the College Board won’t have to deal with it. The tutor will.

Mr. Kahn has been a private tutor in New York City for almost 20 years.


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