Hilton Head Island (SC) schools are gearing up to help their students perform well on the new SAT. The article is chock-full of useful information for parents:
Because of the wide-reaching effect of the change, Hilton Head High School already is preparing students for the new format of the test...All teachers are including a reading or writing activity in each class everyday...Teachers select activities that are based on the content of the class...All students also have access to a computerized independent study program called "Skills Tutor"...
Aretha Rhone-Bush, principal of the new Bluffton High School that will open in 2004, said the school's curriculum review team already is planning how the school will help students do well on the new SAT and other standardized tests.
The biggest change in the SAT is the addition of the writing section, she said. Because lot of people in this country don't write well, the addition of a writing component is a "move in the right direction," she said.
The curriculum team is planning a structured approach to improving students' math, English and higher-order thinking skills, Rhone-Bush said. On Fridays, all math and English classes will participate in activities to improve critical thinking skills, reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and oral and written expression, she said.
These skills are the basis for all student learning and for any standardized test, she said...
The new section will contain multiple-choice questions and an essay. According to information on the College Board's Web site, it will test students' grammar, usage and word-choice skills.
The verbal section will be renamed the critical reading section. It no longer will include analogies. Instead, it will add short reading passages. The test will continue to have long reading passages.
The math section will continue to cover geometry and algebra I and will add skills students learn in algebra II.
Because of the revisions, the students' test-taking time will increase about 30 minutes to three hours and 35 minutes. And with the increase in time will come an increase in the fees students will pay to take the test. Students now pay $28.50 and that will increase by $10 to $12 with the new version...
Students who can't afford the test fee can apply for a waiver...
Posted by kswygert at November 3, 2003 03:04 PM