Study Abroad to
Double Your
Employment ;
Opportunities !
FREE info kit]
To get a
e-mail us: /«/b(S>Abroad//jRussia.com |
or call Toll Free: 1-866-889-9880
Texas A&M
Baseball Team
Team Tryouts
Sept. 9-T0;^ @430 p.m
Southwood A^letic Complex
Informational Meeting
Sept. 8 @ 7 p.m
MSC228
clubbaseball.tripod.com
The Battalion
Classified
Advertising
• Easy
• Affordable
• Effective
For information, call
345-0569
XAM
Historically National Jewish Fraternity
New Fraternity of Campus
Looking to grow
Opportunity to be a Founding Father
Leadership positions available
RUSH SAMMY 03
Contact us at
rwolfo5@tamu.edu
8A
Monday, September 8, 2003
NATK
THE BAT TALI
■yORLD
■he bait
Discrepancy between ACT,
SAT math scores raises doubl
Ara
By Lar
THE ASSC
By Steve Giegerich
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
I
myWebCT
Beginning of Semester Help is available at the
following locations:
Sept3, 1:30 - 3:30pm Blocker
Sept3, 5:00 - 7:00pm SCC
Sept 4, 8:30 - 10:30am SCC
Sept 5, 10:30am - 12:30pm West Campus
Sept 8, 9:00 - 11:00am Blocker
Sept 9, 2:30 - 4:30pm West Campus
Sept 9, 5:00 - 7:00pm SCC
Sept 10, 1:30-3:30pm SCC
Drop by any time during the above hours
First, the maker of America’s
second-most popular college
entrance exam releases this year’s
test scores and declares incoming
freshmen largely unprepared for
math and science classes. A week
later, results from the nation’s No.
1 test show math scores at a 35-
year high.
Something doesn’t add up.
In the wake of the annual
release of ACT and SAT test
scores, educators are still dis
agreeing about what to make of
the results. One testing critic calls
the discrepancy a result of mar
keting efforts aimed at setting the
two exams apart.
“These are businesses in a
nonprofit form,’’ said Robert
Schaeffer of FairTest, an organi
zation that advocates balanced
standardized exams.
The ACT scores for the high
school class of 2003 were identi
cal in math and science to the
year before — 20.6 and 20.8,
respectively, on a 36-point scale.
In the last five years, math and
science scores have dropped
slightly on the test, taken by near
ly 1.2 million of last spring’s high
school graduates.
Researchers for the ACT ana
lyzed this year’s results and con
cluded that just 26 percent of test-
takers were ready to handle col
lege coursework in science and
40 percent in math.
Meanwhile, the SAT math
scores were the best since at
least 1967: 519 on a scale with
a top score of 800. Since the
1999 exam, math scores are up
eight points.
Some educators say the num
ber of students enrolled in reme
dial math and science courses at
four-year schools support the
ACT’s conclusions.
Michael Kirst, a Stanford
University education professor,
said the ACT’s position is com-
Math scores
puzzle test
makers
Average math SAT scores
The highest possible score is 8ff
520
The average math score for
students taking the SAT
exam has gone up in the
past five years. Meanwhile,
the average math and
science scores for the ACT
exam have gone down.
Average ACT scores
The highest possible
score is 36.
21.0
'99 00 '01 02 03
Math
Science
20.0
mill
I RAM ALL
Basser Ara
Bilcstinian pa
Bke over
Bunday and It
B?xt govemm
Bition of Maf
| Several It
Biling Fatah ]
Bimination b
li unent speal
Hough it reni
BouId accep
He meeting S
Hot com men
Hid. The par
oi r only non
Haki. a memb
Hal committe
1 The develi
ilg a day of
Hnlitics set of
ilnation of .
H fused to gra
H er the Pales
•99 00 '01 02 03
99 00 '01 '02 03
SOURCES: TTw Cotag* Board. ACT. AMOCMrtad Rrma
patible with a study he co
authored earlier this year. It also
found that many freshmen are not
prepared for college math and
science, despite gains in achieve
ment scores.
But Andrew Porter, the direc
tor of the Learning Sciences
Institute at Vanderbilt University
maintains the SAT scores do, in
fact, represent an upward trend in
math and science proficiency.
“To have scores higher than
35 years ago and to be testing a
larger and more diverse student
body than was tested 35 years ago
is pretty dam impressive —
whether they’re ready for college
or not," Porter said.
Porter and other educators
noted that the assessments of the
SAT and ACT reflect the differ
ences between the exams and the
students who take the tests.
Although most universities
are willing to factor either or
both tests into the admissions
process, the SAT is generally the
primary exam taken by stai
on the two coasts, eda;:
noted. It also figures :
prominently in the admis-
procedures at elite collcgti
universities. The ACT is pc
in the middle of the c®
where it is the standard ux.
many public institutions.
Headquartered in Iowa
low a, the nonprofit ACT k
its findings on whether sKi;
reached “college read:::
benchmarks in the math an:
ence sections of the exam.
it also gave students a;
tionnaire about their class *
which found fewer than ha!:
three years of science and
years of math classes.
“I don’t believe it’s apr
lion." said Cyndie Scheme
ACT’s vice president olde:
ment. “I think what we:
here is a real issue suppom
remedial course work lha:
ports our data."
ices, cappinj
■tangling bet
■bbas took o
I Qureia —
he lped cobble
■slo accord
■e PLO — v
candidate n
Hcause he h
■ons and has
Israelis. Isra<
immediately
Hvelopment.
I Earlier in
conflicting
■hether Abb
sured to stay
I A source
speaking o
anonymity, s
again only if
■rm deal will
oh what his p<
Who would s
■ent. Abbas
sjgnals when
irkg a new
something \
about. My re
he said.
The resigr
o|is blow to
‘Toad map’’
ing a Palestir
Banc of America Securities is shining bright
on Wall Street. Our integrated model is
gaining market share at the expense of
longer established competitors, and we’re
closing more deals than ever for our clients.
For you, that means greater visibility and the
opportunity to have an immediate impact.
Join us in the spotlight.
Banc of America Securities
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Banc of America Securities LLC, member NYSE/NASD/SIPC, is a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. © 2003.