Admission test changes planned, 05-20-02

UCSC Currents online

May 20, 2002

Regents told testing firms plan to alter admissions exams to meet UC specifications

By Marina Dundjerski and Cynthia Lee
UCLA Today

Representatives from the College Board and ACT, Inc.--makers of the nation's two primary university admissions tests, the SAT I and ACT--told the University of California Board of Regents that they plan to change their exams to meet UC's new specifications and be ready by 2004 to select the class of 2006. UC is the biggest user of the SAT.

The changes to the new College Board test, officials told the Regents--who met at UCLA May 15-16--would be implemented nationwide, not just in California.

Wayne Camara, the College Board's senior vice president of marketing and development, told the Regents that, among other changes, the testmaker plans to add a written essay, longer reading passages tied to college-prep subject matter, and a multiple-choice section on grammar usage. The test would cover three years of high school math instead of two. Gone would be the controversial word analogy section. All changes must still be approved by College Board trustees.

ACT President Richard L. Ferguson told the Regents a written essay will be added to its exam in California. The test otherwise complies with UC specifications, he said.

Some Regents, however, expressed concern over some of the changes. Regent Sherry Lansing said she worries that scoring an essay portion would not be objective. "That's very disconcerting to me," Lansing said.

But, countered State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Regent Delaine Eastin, "One has to be able to write... Life is not a multiple-choice exam."

While the Regents and testmakers discussed proposed changes, faculty members are still debating whether and why the changes are needed in the first place, given that the statistical evidence supporting a move away from the SAT I is weak.

Some basic questions remain, said faculty members who must still vote on the issue. An analysis by Professor Richard Berk of UCLA's Department of Statistics showed that the study that provided the basis for President Richard Atkinson's initiative to eliminate SAT I "had severe limitations," said Ray Knapp, chair of UCLA's Undergraduate Council at a town hall meeting May 14, the last of three events hosted by the UCLA Academic Senate on the testing issue.

"The original rationale, and the flawed study it was based on, have been given a great deal of press coverage, so that the initiative to eliminate and/or modify SAT I has at this point already acquired significant momentum," Knapp said. "This is unfortunate, given where we are in our process of assessment."

Both the Undergraduate Council and the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools voiced reservations about the move away from the SAT I.

Berk's analysis, said Nick Entrikin, chair of the committee, shows that high school GPAs, SAT 1 scores, and Sat 2 scores highly correlate with each other in terms of their predictive powers of a freshman's success. The evidence "simply [is] not there to support radical change," he said.

However, Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, dean of the UCLA Graduate Division and interim head of Student Affairs, said the fact that testmakers are willing to build into the proposed test diagnostic capabilities that will provide valuable feedback to students, parents, and teachers should not be overlooked.

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	May 20, 2002 Regents told testing firms plan to alter admissions exams to meet UC specifications By Marina Dundjerski and Cynthia Lee UCLA Today Representatives from the College Board and ACT, Inc.--makers of the nation's two primary university admissions tests, the SAT I and ACT--told the University of California Board of Regents that they plan to change their exams to meet UC's new specifications and be ready by 2004 to select the class of 2006. UC is the biggest user of the SAT. The changes to the new College Board test, officials told the Regents--who met at UCLA May 15-16--would be implemented nationwide, not just in California. Wayne Camara, the College Board's senior vice president of marketing and development, told the Regents that, among other changes, the testmaker plans to add a written essay, longer reading passages tied to college-prep subject matter, and a multiple-choice section on grammar usage. The test would cover three years of high school math instead of two. Gone would be the controversial word analogy section. All changes must still be approved by College Board trustees. ACT President Richard L. Ferguson told the Regents a written essay will be added to its exam in California. The test otherwise complies with UC specifications, he said. Some Regents, however, expressed concern over some of the changes. Regent Sherry Lansing said she worries that scoring an essay portion would not be objective. "That's very disconcerting to me," Lansing said. But, countered State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Regent Delaine Eastin, "One has to be able to write... Life is not a multiple-choice exam." While the Regents and testmakers discussed proposed changes, faculty members are still debating whether and why the changes are needed in the first place, given that the statistical evidence supporting a move away from the SAT I is weak. Some basic questions remain, said faculty members who must still vote on the issue. An analysis by Professor Richard Berk of UCLA's Department of Statistics showed that the study that provided the basis for President Richard Atkinson's initiative to eliminate SAT I "had severe limitations," said Ray Knapp, chair of UCLA's Undergraduate Council at a town hall meeting May 14, the last of three events hosted by the UCLA Academic Senate on the testing issue. "The original rationale, and the flawed study it was based on, have been given a great deal of press coverage, so that the initiative to eliminate and/or modify SAT I has at this point already acquired significant momentum," Knapp said. "This is unfortunate, given where we are in our process of assessment." Both the Undergraduate Council and the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools voiced reservations about the move away from the SAT I. Berk's analysis, said Nick Entrikin, chair of the committee, shows that high school GPAs, SAT 1 scores, and Sat 2 scores highly correlate with each other in terms of their predictive powers of a freshman's success. The evidence "simply [is] not there to support radical change," he said. However, Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, dean of the UCLA Graduate Division and interim head of Student Affairs, said the fact that testmakers are willing to build into the proposed test diagnostic capabilities that will provide valuable feedback to students, parents, and teachers should not be overlooked. Return to Front Page