Private Tutor for Math & Science Success

Star-Telegram | 12/28/2005 | Petition seeks changes in SAT

The College Board is considering changes to the SAT, one of the most popular college admissions tests, after hundreds of high school guidance counselors and college admissions counselors said that the three-part test is too long and unnecessary for some students.

The Kinston Free Press

Beginning in March, the standard format of the SAT was supplemented with a 35-minute writing section. Test takers must complete a 25-minute essay section as well as a 10-minute multiple-choice grammar test.

Admissions and the Cold Slap of Rejection – New York Times

Kevin Friedenberg was certain he had played by all the rules of the college recruiting game.

John-Paul Cashiola, a lacrosse goalie who was accepted to Haverford, marketed himself to coaches, and he had other factors in his favor, too.

Kevin Friedenberg, also a goalie, had the grades and the SAT score, and he went to camps and made campus visits, but he was rejected.

A top high school lacrosse goalie from Needham, Mass., he had e-mailed coaches to promote himself and had attended showcase camps and tournaments. An A student who said he had College Board scores equivalent to 1,380 on the two-part SAT, Friedenberg narrowed his choices to three Division III institutions, including Haverford, a small, selective liberal arts college.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Collin County News

Eric Hwang says he forgot to tote his calculator along when he took the SAT as a junior.

[Click image for a larger version] ERIN TRIEB/Special Contributor
ERIN TRIEB/Special Contributor
Plano Senior High student Eric Hwang says, ‘If you can really remember what you learned in school, that helps you a lot.’ School counselor Nancy Erickson says Eric as well rounded and extraordinarily driven.

And the night before taking the new version of the test in November, he got just five hours of sleep after playing his flute with Plano Senior High’s marching band at a football game.

Still, the senior with a penchant for origami twice achieved the best score possible – a 1600 under the SAT’s old format and a 2400 on the new version, which includes an essay.

Lines and Angles (Medium)

HometownAnnapolis.com, Top Stories – Superintendent delays new schedule for high schools

Facing mounting criticism that change was happening too fast, the county school superintendent has put the brakes on plans to alter next year’s high school schedule.

Tables, Charts and Graphs (Medium)

Advanced Courses Making Headway in High Schools

Students at nearly all of Southern Maryland’s public high schools increased their participation in college-level courses this year, according to an annual survey by The Washington Post.

Divisibility (Hard)

Business Journal

Many local high school students are jump-starting their college education through dual enrollment at Southwest Virginia Community College. Students taking a dual credit course get both high school credit and college credit for the course.

The numbers of dual enrolled students has increased dramatically in the past several years. In the 2004-2005 academic year, the Virginia Community College System dual-enrolled 21,941 students, compared with 2,000 in 1990-1991.