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Standardized Tests

All articles tagged with #standardized tests

education5 months ago

Texas School Ratings 2025: Districts' Performance Highlights

Recent Texas STAAR test scores show slight improvements in reading and math, with 54% of students meeting grade-level standards in reading and 43% in math. The test faces criticism for its length and impact on students, and efforts to replace it with shorter assessments have faced legislative hurdles. Test results influence district evaluations, with some schools, especially those with English language learners, struggling to meet standards.

via The Texas Tribune|
#education#education-policy#staar
education1 year ago

"Harvard Reinstates SAT and ACT Admission Requirements"

Harvard College will require applicants to submit standardized test scores for fall 2025 admission, reversing its previous test-optional policy. This decision follows similar moves by other Ivy League schools, citing the tests as the best predictors of academic performance and a means to increase socioeconomic diversity. Critics argue that standardized tests create barriers for disadvantaged students, but Harvard officials believe the tests can make the admissions process more meritocratic. The university will accept alternative scores in exceptional cases and plans to assess the policy regularly. Other selective schools, such as the University of Chicago and Columbia University, remain test-optional.

via The Washington Post|
#admissions#education#harvard
education1 year ago

"Harvard College Reinstates SAT and ACT Testing Requirement for Admissions"

Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology will require SAT or ACT scores for admission, reversing their earlier decisions to make testing optional, with the new policy applying to students seeking admission in fall 2025 and applicants to Caltech needing to submit scores this fall, a year before its testing moratorium was set to expire.

via Bloomberg|
#act#california-institute-of-technology#education
education1 year ago

"Top Universities Reinstate Standardized Test Requirements for Admissions"

The University of Texas at Austin has announced that it will reinstate the requirement for SAT or ACT scores for fall 2025 admissions, citing the need to better place students in suitable programs and identify those who may require additional support. This decision follows a trend among selective universities, including Brown, Yale, and M.I.T., to reverse their temporary test-optional policies, with some expressing concerns that such policies inadvertently disadvantaged students from low-income backgrounds.

via The New York Times|
#act#admissions#education
education1 year ago

"U.S. Students to Take SAT Exam Fully Online for the First Time"

The SAT will be administered entirely online for the first time in the U.S. this weekend, marking a significant shift from the traditional pencil-and-paper format. The move comes as colleges grapple with the role of standardized tests in admissions, with many dropping test requirements and others resuming them. While some students see advantages in taking the SAT, concerns about equity persist, as the test prep and access to resources can heavily influence scores. The digital SAT aims to address some of these concerns, but the debate around equity and standardized testing continues.

via NBC News|
#college-admissions#college-board#digital-testing
education1 year ago

"Dartmouth Reinstates SAT and ACT Requirements for Admissions Post-Pandemic Pause"

Dartmouth College will reinstate the requirement for applicants to submit standardized test scores, starting with the class of 2029, after making test scores optional in 2020 due to the pandemic. A study conducted by the college found that test scores could benefit less advantaged students and help bring in students from high schools without a track record of sending students to Dartmouth. This decision challenges the criticism that standardized tests disadvantage students from marginalized backgrounds, and comes amid a broader movement to make test requirements optional at colleges and universities across the U.S.

via NPR|
#act#college-admissions#dartmouth-college
education2 years ago

Missouri Schools Struggle with Learning Loss and Attendance Decline

More than half of Missouri's charter school systems and one in six school districts fail to meet state standards for accreditation, according to new data. The annual performance reports, which measure factors such as standardized test scores and graduation rates, show that Missouri school districts and charters scored an average of 77%, down from 96% in 2018. Low teacher retention and student absenteeism were cited as main factors affecting school performance. The data indicate a need for academic recovery, and discussions around school choice policies and the popularity of four-day school weeks are expected to dominate the next legislative session.

via St. Louis Post-Dispatch|
#accreditation#education#missouri
education2 years ago

Florida School District Apologizes for Racially Biased Assembly Targeting Black Students' Test Scores

Officials from the Flagler County school district in Florida have apologized for an elementary school assembly at Bunnell Elementary School where Black students were singled out for a presentation on low test scores. The school's principal has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. The presentation, led by two Black teachers, discussed how students with higher grades had a better chance of going to college, while those with lower grades had a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot, or getting killed. The district stated that the assembly was a "horrible, horrific mistake" and does not reflect their values. A community forum will be held to address the incident.

via NBC News|
#apology#education#florida
education2 years ago

Education Assessment Results: Positive Trends Emerge in D.C. and Minnesota

Students in Washington D.C. showed modest improvements in standardized test scores last school year, indicating some progress in recovering from the pandemic's impact on education. However, the results also highlight that students have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Efforts such as tutoring, teacher training, and mental health support have contributed to the incremental gains. The improvements were funded by federal coronavirus relief funds, and officials are now examining which interventions should receive long-term investment. While reading scores improved across most groups, proficiency rates still lag behind pre-pandemic levels. Math scores also increased or remained stable, but performance gaps widened. Middle school students showed the largest gains, while high school students struggled due to spotty attendance and missed learning opportunities.

via The Washington Post|
#academic-interventions#dc-student-test-scores#education
education2 years ago

Controversial Assembly at Bunnell Elementary Sparks Investigation into Singling Out Black Students

Black students at Bunnell Elementary School in Florida were singled out and pulled from class for an assembly focused on their poor performance on standardized tests, prompting outrage from parents and an investigation by the school district. Only Black fourth- and fifth-grade students were selected to attend the assembly, which featured a typo-laden PowerPoint presentation highlighting the low test scores of Black students. Parents expressed concern that their children were told they could end up dead or in jail if they didn't improve their grades. The school district is investigating the incident, and the interim superintendent has apologized to parents.

via The Washington Post|
#black-students#education#florida
artificial-intelligence2 years ago

GPT-3: Matching Human Reasoning and Problem Solving

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that OpenAI's GPT-3 language model outperformed undergraduates in tests of reasoning by analogy, commonly found in standardized tests like the SAT. GPT-3 demonstrated the ability to complete comparisons and understand rules behind transformations of letters and numbers. However, the software had some glitches and struggled to consistently recognize the presented problems without specific prompts or sentence phrasing. The study suggests that large language models like GPT-3 can master reasoning by analogy and develop abstract notions that can be flexibly generalized between different domains.

via Ars Technica|
#artificial-intelligence#gpt-3#language-models
environment2 years ago

Misleading Claims: "Compostable" Plastic Fails to Decompose in the Ocean

A study has found that compostable plastic, such as polylactic acid (PLA), does not break down in the ocean, remaining unchanged for over a year. The research highlights the need for standardized tests to verify if materials advertised as compostable truly biodegrade in natural environments. The study emphasizes the difference between compostable plastics that require specific conditions for degradation and cellulose-based textiles that can biodegrade naturally. The accumulation of oil-based plastic waste in the ocean poses a significant ecological problem, as even when broken down into microplastics, they remain undigestible pollutants.

via SciTechDaily|
#biodegradation#compostable-plastic#environment
education2 years ago

The Future of Affirmative Action in College Admissions.

Hillsdale Professor Wilfred McClay predicts that the Supreme Court will strike down affirmative action in college admissions, but warns that colleges may still find ways to work around the ruling and establish quotas. He argues that colleges should demand excellence above all else and not pivot away from standardized tests like the SAT. The professor also expresses concern about the competition with China in education and the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in American higher education.

via Fox News|
#affirmative-action#college-admissions#diversity