TWO EXPERIENCED SAT TUTORS CRITICIZE THE REDESIGNED SAT   BY DONNA GARNER:

“Two Experienced SAT  Tutors Criticize New Redesigned SAT”

by Donna Garner

3.6.15 

http://www.educationviews.org/experienced-sat-tutors-criticize-redesigned-sat/

ACTION STEP:  What the public needs to remember is that the way to “defang” the SAT is to drive the College Board that produces the SAT, the Pre-SAT, and all Advanced Placement tests out of business.  Some call this “starving the beast.”  Other tests and avenues through which to get admitted to colleges/universities do exist; and who knows, some entrepreneur company watching the outrage that the public is voicing about all Common Core products may decide to capitalize on this outrage by producing alternative products.   

The new redesigned SAT is to be administered for the first time in March 2016.

Below, I have posted two views of the new SAT by long-time SAT tutors. The first was sent to me by a successful, long-time SAT tutor.  I will call her “Sally Jane.”   

The second is an article written by Lynn O’Shaughnessy; she is a nationally recognized college expert.  Jed Applerouth, PhD, founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services went through the SAT practice set of questions released by the College Board in December 2014.  Jed gave Lynn  permission to share his views of the new SAT.  I have posted some of my comments about the “present” SAT before giving the link to Lynn’s article.  

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW MARCH 2016 SAT  

David Coleman is called “the architect of the Common Core.” When he finished his damaging work there, he went over to become the president of The College Board (CB). He has stated publicly numerous times that all College Board products will be aligned to the Common Core.  He is busily carrying out his pledge.  CB products include the SAT, Pre-SAT, and all Advanced Placement (AP) tests.   

Starting in the fall of 2014, the AP U. S. History (APUSH) was completely redesigned to indoctrinate America’s finest and best 500,000 students to hate America. Other redesigned AP tests are in the pipeline.  

Now we see what Common Core alignment means in the new SAT as these two long-time SAT tutors describe it. – Donna Garner]   

TESTIMONY #1 FROM SALLY JANE

I just looked over the College Board's new SAT practice material posted on the College Board website, and I'm reeling from the experience.

Several sample texts were about such things as: how bad cars are, how people should live in "megaregions," or how the biggest growth sector between 2010 and 2020 will be in urban planning -- all Agenda 21 indoctrination. 

Interestingly, students will no longer be penalized for guessing as CB will no longer subtract ¼ point for a wrong answer. And there will be only 4 choices per question instead of 5 -- a bonus for the guessers.

I found the so-called reading section questions very difficult and not really about reading comprehension per se. In one example, they asked an odd interpretive question which, if you missed that question, you would also get the next question wrong since it was directly based on your previous answer.

I pity the poor students. 

The truncated "verbal" section now is also studded with math/science questions asking the students to read graphs and answer word problems, somewhat like the ACT science section. I dislike having that portion in the English section. It doesn't test verbal skills.

There was no literature in the samples the CB provided.

And, sadly, the essay has been downgraded into an AP English-type exercise: Students are strictly forbidden from expressing an opinion about the passage they must read. What kind of a message does that give our young people? They must merely cite what rhetorical devices, etc., the author uses to build his argument.  In other words, students have to “parrot” back what the author has stated – a prime way to indoctrinate students.

I weep for these students.

As for myself, my main source of income for many years now has been tutoring high school students, primarily working with them on SAT preparation -- essay writing, grammar, vocabulary -- not to mention often mentoring them, inspiring them to read literature, to learn to love language, and to take pride in their writing, and, when possible, teaching them what it means to be an American. 

I teach only the English portion of the exam, but that has worked well for me since the test was two-thirds English. That won't be so in 2016.

But even if the demand for SAT tutoring were to continue, I'm not sure I'd have the stomach to guide the students down the labyrinth of totalitarian indoctrination embedded in the forthcoming reading passages. 

And do please let me know if a patriot comes up with an alternative exam. I'd love to use it!

Thanks so much,

XXXXX 

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TESTIMONY #2 FROM CEO OF SAT TUTORING COMPANY  

[2.29.15 -- Comments from Donna Garner – The following article is written by Lynn O'Shaughnessy who is restating the comments made to her by Jed Applerough, PhD, the founder of Applerough Tutoring Services. Applerough encourages this year’s sophomores to avoid taking the new SAT but instead to take the present SAT (implemented in 2005) or else to take the ACT. 

What I am anxious to find out is whether the redesigned 2016 SAT Writing section will retain the similar sub-sections and sub-scores of the present SAT (i.e., SAT Reasoning Test) which has three parts – Math, Critical Reading, and Writing. 

The Writing section presently has two sub-scores – essay and grammar/usage (multiple-choice questions).  The grammar/usage section is weighted heavily -- 70% of the Writing score -- and is made up of 49 multiple-choice grammar/usage questions. The essay only counts 30%.

The College Board added the grammar/usage to the 2005 SAT because of the downward spiraling of students’ English proficiency skills, and the 70% sub-score was meant to entice K-12 teachers across the country to emphasize correct grammar/usage in their classrooms.

Because of the advent of technology devices and the social media, however, students’ grammar/usage skills have grown increasingly worse in the last few years.  Will the new redesigned SAT continue to emphasize correct grammar/usage by weighting that section heavily (70%)? 

If I were to offer a guess, I would say the new redesigned and Common Core-aligned SAT will de-emphasize English proficiency; and if there is any grammar/usage on the test at all, it will be given minimal scoring weight.  This de-emphasis on grammar/usage will lead to the further erosion of the English language. – Donna Garner]   

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1.29.15 – “Why You Should Worry About the New SAT Test” – by Lynn O’Shaughnessy – The College Solution -- http://www.thecollegesolution.com/why-you-should-worry-about-the-new-sat-test/ 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com