
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 18, 1994                   TAG: 9403180093
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER Staff Writer
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEST MONITOR: IT'S NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK

The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit organization in Cambridge, Mass., that monitors standardized tests, says the changes in the SAT are more cosmetic than substantial.

Bob Schaeffer, the center's public education director, said the exam's manufacturers have created confusion about the changes, causing students to flock to coaching courses in record numbers.

Schaeffer said there are several myths about the new test, such as:

The "new SAT" is significantly different from previous versions. No, he said; three-quarters of the test is the same as in the past.

SAT questions now will be open-ended, requiring students to provide their own answers. The truth is that 128 of the test's 138 questions are the same multiple-choice types.

Students will have to compose an essay for the new test. Actually, there is no writing on the SAT I. One of the SAT II achievement tests requires a 20-minute essay, but most students won't take it.

Critics claim the new test won't eliminate gender and bias issues. But the test makers predict that the gap between men and women, currently about 50 points, will be cut in half. They say the new test recognizes the increasing diversity of students.

Female students score about 50 points lower than males on the combined SAT scale, but they tend to earn higher grades than males in both high school and college. - JOEL TURNER

by CNB