MHS Counselor Working to Reform SATs

by Callie Schweitzer

(March 23, 2006) For high school students in Mamaroneck and across the country, SATs are a stressful right of passage, but recently revealed errors in scoring more than 4,000 tests has brought stress levels to an all-time high. According to the College Board, the organization that creates and oversees the SATs, “abnormally high moisture content” is to blame for grading errors that lowered students’ scores by 100 to 450 points.

To many, this type of error came as a shock. However, long before this incident, Mamaroneck High School guidance counselor Bob Sweeney was well aware of the need for reform and improvement of the SATs, and had been working to promote change.

When Bob Sweeney was asked recently to describe the SATs in as few words as possible, he quickly replied, “Anxiety-provoking and tedious.” This is not the response most people would expect from a man who writes dozens of college recommendations and spends the school year helping students create game plans for getting into the colleges of their choice. However, as he watched MHS students agonize over increasing test stress — due first to the loss of choice in which SAT II scores to send to the colleges, followed by a revamping and lengthening of the SAT - he decided to join those who were doing something about it.

On December 9, 2005, Mr. Sweeney received an email from guidance counselor Brad MacGowan of Newton (Massachusetts) North High School. Mr. MacGowan attached a letter he had written to the College Board protesting the length of the new SAT. At the time, the letter contained only six signatures; Mr. Sweeney made himself the seventh. Since then, the letter has been widely circulated to guidance counselors, college admissions workers, and college counselors across the country. Armed with an additional 250 signatures, Mr. MacGowan sent the letter to the president of the College Board. The New York Times and other media took note, sparking even more interest.

Mr. MacGowan’s campaign calls for splitting the SAT into three parts which can be administered on three days, one for math, one for verbal, and one for writing. Students would have the option of taking the entire test in one day; however, if they wanted to split it up into parts, they could do that as well. “I’ve always wondered why a student has to take the entire test over again when they are only looking to improve one score,” Mr. Sweeney said. “I’ve had students who scored an 800 [perfect score] on one section of the test in the spring but wanted to redo a different section in the fall, and they have to retake the whole exam.”

While juniors and seniors are all too aware of the components of the current SAT, others may wonder what is new about the “new” SATs. The newest version of the standard SAT introduced a writing section which used to be offered as one of the content exams known as the SAT II’s. With the additional section, the SAT runs three hours and forty-five minutes. Students whose learning disabilities entitle them to 50% more time, take the test in five hours and fourteen minutes, and those eligible for 100 percent extended time are allotted six-hours and forty-minutes over the course of two days. (These estimates do not include the additional time for breaks, filling in identifying information, and other administrative functions.)

“The model test is the SAT II because it gives students options,” Mr. Sweeney commented. “Not only is it an hour long, but students can decide which subjects will best reflect their studying efforts.”

Students who have experienced the new SAT or will experience it in the upcoming months worry about hunger and fatigue. Junior Clare Hiler commented, “It’s so hard to focus for that amount of time—not only is it nerve-wracking, but there’s only so much you can take after you’ve been sitting there for several hours.”

Junior Eric Brandley, who has yet to take the SATs, stated, “I think the pressure and anticipation is stressing everyone out.” His strategy to keep up his endurance for nearly four hours? “When I practice, I just try to focus on each section at a time and keep my mind off the total length of the test.”

“It hasn't really sunk in yet how stressed I’m going to be for the real SAT, but it's been really stressful preparing for it,” commented junior Sam Muffly, who is planning to take the SATs on April 1st. “All of the preparation I do takes up a lot of time and it adds to the incredible amount of stress I already have from school.”

“We just want students to have more options. That’s our long-term goal,” Mr. Sweeney said. He also believes separating the test into three separate days could allow students to break up their studying in a more effective way. Students could study for one test at a time and take that particular section when they felt comfortable, instead of cramming in all three subjects at once. “My guess is that students would take the whole test the first time around, and then just pick and choose which to retake based on their scores,” he commented.

Sam Muffly said, “If I had the opportunity to take the three parts on separate days I would definitely opt to do that. Sitting down for four hours is like a marathon for your mind, and not too many kids are good at marathons.”

Counselors MacGowan and Sweeney may be part of a slow-growing revolution. In 2001, the president of the California state system began to question the validity of the test and proposed dropping the system’s use of the SAT I; the College Board responded by adding the writing section and lengthening the test. At this point, over 700 colleges across the country have made SAT scores optional for applying students. These schools include top colleges such as Bates, Bowdoin, Sarah Lawrence, Dickinson, Hamilton, Muhlenberg, and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin; an entire list can be viewed at www.fairtest.org. Union and Connecticut College allow students to submit three SAT subject tests (also known as SAT IIs) instead of the SAT I test.

“My preference is for schools to have an optional SAT policy,” Mr. Sweeney said. “If in coming years more and more colleges feel the SATs are not a good indicator of a student’s success, then there could come a time when the SATs could be wiped out altogether.”

As for progress on SAT reform? Mr. Sweeney reported, “The College Board claims to be ‘studying’ our proposal. Changes could take years to put into place. Optimistically speaking, I’d say it could take a minimum of two years before any changes are made.”

For current MHS juniors, Sweeney sighed, “SATs are certainly a reality that students have to deal with. I don’t advise students to take them more than twice. Please keep in mind there are great schools where the SATs are optional.”

Callie Schweitzer, a junior at Mamaroneck High School, is a regular contributor to the Larchmont Gazette.