From the August 28, 1996 Daily Report Card:
-> *6   SAT SCORES UP:  HARD WORK PAYS OFF, SAYS COLLEGE BOARD
->    The average test score on the SAT 1 math exam reached its
-> highest level in nearly 25 years among this year's class of
-> graduating seniors (College Board press release).  The math score
-> rose 2 points to 508, while the average verbal score rose 1 point to
-> 505.
->    "We see encouraging signs among these students, many of whom
-> will be college graduates in the year 2000, the start of the new
-> millennium," said Donalad Stewart, president of the College
-> Board.  "Compared to their predecessors, they have taken more
-> honors courses and more precalculus, calculus, chemistry,
-> physics, and other academic courses, and are more computer
-> literate.  They are also more ambitious, with over half planning to
-> go beyond the bachelor's degree."
->    U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley agrees that hard work pays off on
-> the SAT.  "SAT scores have come to be seen as a measure of the
-> nation's educational health," he said.  "This year's annual
-> check-up:  pulse is strong, but sustained vigorous exertion
-> required.  The message for students remains the same:  take
-> challenging course, read daily, and use television only in
-> moderation."
->    Council for Basic Education President Chris Cross, while
-> encouraged by the gain in test scores, cautioned that "even
-> though verbal scores on the SAT have increased slightly the last
-> couple of years, they are still 25 points lower than in 1972."
-> He added:  "Most significantly, the number of students scoring
-> above 700 on the verbal section is still more than 30% below the 1972
-> level.  This decline represents a serious erosion in the
-> verbal ability of our best high school graduates."
->    The National Center for Fair & Open Testing points out that
-> girls continue to receive lower scores on the SAT than boys. A
-> FairTest press release writes that "a growing body of research
-> underscores the gender bias present in the SAT.
->    Improvement in educational achievement also was noted by ACT
-> scores (See DRC 8-21-96).
->    Stewart also noted that more high school graduates are
-> entering college with college credits.  "We estimate that over
-> 200,000 graduates qualified for college credit in physics,
-> calculus, English, history, and 15 other subjects on the basis of
-> grades on College Board Advanced Placement Exams alone.  About
-> 33,000 of these graduates were qualified to enter college as
-> sophomores, and 750 as juniors," he added.
->    The College Board also reported that health-related fields
-> are now the top choice of college-bound seniors, ahead of
-> business, which is in second place.  "Ten years ago, 23% of
-> students planned to major in business and 13 percent in health," said
-> Gretchen Rigol, the College Board's executive director of
-> Admissions and Guidance Services.  "Today, business is 13 percent and
-> health 19 percent."
->    For more information, contact The College Board; 45 Columbus
-> Avenue; New York, New York  10023-6992; 212/713-8000.  Or visit their
-> Web site at http:\\www.collegeboard.org/press/index.html.
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